Meet Sarah Booth Delaney... an unconventional southern belle whose knack for uncovering the truth is about to make her the hottest detective in Zinnia, Mississippi... if it doesn't make her the deadest.

Sarah Booth and Tinkie have returned to Zinnia, Mississippi to find Oscar, Tinkie’s husband, near death—and no one is certain what happened to him. But Oscar isn’t the only person who comes down with a strange malady. Deputy Gordon Walters falls ill, as do two female realtors. And the Carlisle plantation is the only thing that connects all four victims. Sheriff Coleman Peters is forced to call in experts from the Centers for Disease Control.

Tinkie implores Sarah Booth to find the cause of the illness so maybe Doc Sawyer can find a cure. The clock is ticking as Sarah Booth begins to dig into the tortured past of the Carlisle plantation and the family whose name the land bears. There’s a lot at stake, but Sarah Booth doesn’t really know how much. The plot is more complicated than she ever thought.