Sheila Travis ruefully agrees when dispatched by her colorful Aunt Mary to Charleston to investigate several mysterious accidents at the historic home of Mary's childhood friends. However, Sheila can't help remembering what her dad always said about his sister: "Trouble follows that woman like fleas follow a dog."

Sheila's hostesses are such gracious purveyors of Southern hospitality that Sheila has to keep reminding herself this is not a social visit. Even if she is initially inclined to write the accidents off as coincidence, the first murder changes her mind. The second begins to unearth dark secrets amidst the roses and honeysuckle. Wills and family history come under close scrutiny as Sheila closes in on a killer . . . unwittingly putting herself in deadly danger.