Hannah Starvling, former FBI turned culinary consultant and amateur sleuth, and Hymnal Miles are getting married. But Hannah’s wedding takes a backseat to an unexpected request. The officiating priest, Reverend Whipson, has asked her for a favor. He wants her to look into several questionable deaths at a senior retirement community. Matters are further complicated when it comes to light that all victims share one thing in common—a connection to the Reverend's physician granddaughter and her husband. Now, there is a question of whether the doctors were responsible, or if someone is targeting the Reverend himself.Hannah promised to find out who is responsible and get on with her long-awaited wedding and honeymoon. But her clues are limited. There is the odd choice of a petit four for delivery of the poison. The almost specific targeting of the victims—and the revelation of someone’s unexpected past. Her problems are many. Suspects abound. The murderer could be a friend, a relative of the Reverend, ministerial staff, or someone much closer. Plus, she must deal with her ever encroaching family, and local law enforcement.

Gourmet chef Elias Babel, an expert in truffles, the highly sought-after mushroom delicacies referred to as nature’s diamonds, took a nasty fall from his hotel balcony. Friend Hannah Starvling, a former FBI agent turned culinary consultant and amateur sleuth, suspects it was not an accident. After encountering several suspects, including one who seems determined to insert himself into her investigation, she becomes even more convinced of foul play.Now the planned working vacation with her grandparents, the stubborn Papa Jay and nosy Gran, and love interest Hymnal, is in jeopardy. And so is her life. She only has a few working clues. First, somebody attempted to kill her friend. Second, another rival chef is somehow involved. Third, the mysterious stranger, Lukas Grim, is not who he claims. And last, it all revolves around her friend’s last conscious word, "Dahlia." As for her problems, she has to deal with her Papa Jay and Gran, juggle the obstacles of a new relationship, keep her hospitalized friend alive, all while avoiding getting herself killed.

One year ago, in the small town of Zebulon, celebrity chef Julia Karas died in a tragic accident. Now Hannah Starvling, a former FBI agent turned culinary consultant and amateur sleuth, and friends Buster and Cate Jordon attend a cooking festival in the deceased’s memory. But the friend the trio is staying with thinks there is more to the woman’s death than meets the eye and asks for Hannah’s assistance.Working her way through the twists and turns of a public life gone tragically wrong, her investigation is complicated by a man that stirs her emotions and perhaps clouds her judgment. Now she must find the answers to two questions: What really happened to Julia Karas? And more importantly…why was the chef at the water’s edge?