Pepper Reece's mother, Lena, comes to town for a welcome visit. While browsing in the artists' stalls, Pepper and Lena drool over stunning pottery made by a Market newcomer. But when Lena recognizes the potter, Bonnie Clay, as an old friend who disappeared years ago, the afternoon turns sour. To Pepper's surprise, Bonnie seems intimately connected to her family's past. After Bonnie is murdered only days later, Pepper is determined to uncover the truth....

Three adventures of the Alden children, who once lived on their own in a boxcar.

Qwill, inheritor of the great Klingenschoen fortune, is living in a mansion in Moose County. With a staff of three and a limousine, he is at a loss as to how to cope with it all. To make matters worse, Koko has become fond of knocking Qwill's pigskin edition of Hamlet to the floor.

For country store owner Robbie Jordan, the National Maple Syrup Festival is a sweet escape from late winter in South Lick, Indiana, until murder saps the life out of the celebration.