In a coastal California town, bookshop owner Jill Gardner is vowing to love, honor-and investigate an unsolved murder . . .

Jill's wedding to police chief Greg King is just days away, at a historic Spanish mission with a courtyard full of olive trees. But the folks in South Cove are more intrigued by what kind of ceremonies might be going on behind the walls of New Hope, the walled property where charismatic Kane Matthews and his followers reside. Jill isn't fond of the man, but his followers seem nice, and they buy a lot of books.

After a distraught woman stops by at Coffee, Books, and More with a picture of her daughter, who she believes needs rescuing from the suspected cult-and then Matthews's body is found, at Jill's wedding venue of all places-Jill makes a commitment to solve the case. With Greg's mother as a houseguest, she must play hostess to her future in-law while pursuing a murderous outlaw . . .