When Annie Richards finds herself widowed at the age of 40, she leaves her home in New York City and returns to the small South Carolina town she grew up in. Hoping to create a new life for herself and her teenaged son, Annie teams up with her mother, Bessie, to buy a run down old plantation which they plan on turning into a beautiful bed and breakfast.When an old enemy of Annie's turns up on her doorstep demanding that she sell her new home, Annie is determined to keep the woman from destroying her new dream. When the woman winds up dead in Annie's kitchen, it looks like the dream has become a nightmare as the police begin to suspect not only Annie but her contractor, Rory, as well.Rory has a past that involves a stay in prison for assault and a high school romance with Annie. Will she let her old feelings for him cloud her judgment, or is he actually capable of murder? And why do people seem to think that there's some sort of buried treasure on the plantation's overgrown, long-vacant grounds?Annie finds herself in the middle of a deadly treasure hunt that could end up costing her more than just her new bed and breakfast--it could cost her her life, too.