At a local nursing home, Faye meets a woman who insists she doesn't belong there. Though Faye suspects the claim is wishful thinking, she agrees to look in on Clara Knight's flock of chickens, penned up at her home on Sweet Springs, ten miles from Allport, Michigan.
At the springs, the sisters find the body of Clara's neighbor, who apparently fell to his death. Something isn't right, and Barb and Retta temporarily set aside their argument over the necessity of the Oxford comma in order to help Faye do some digging.
As the Sleuth Sisters investigate, they find Clara Knight's involuntary move to a nursing home is only one example of the strange things happening at Sweet Springs in the last few months. Barb, Faye, and Retta (with Styx the Newfie and Rescue Dog Buddy along for company) find evidence of arson, deceit, and even murder.
The question is why. What does the land around Sweet Springs have that would make someone willing to kill to own it? Who is trying to get rid of the long-time property owners? Suspects include Clara's pushy niece, Barb's old enemy Stanley Wozniak, and a smooth-talking client who makes it clear he'd like to get to know Retta better. And that's just for starters, since there's a shadowy, threatening figure lurking in the background.
The sisters are determined to find out what's going on before more bad things happen. Can they save Clara from someone who wants her out of the way? Will they have to put their own lives in danger to do so? And can chickens play a role in a daring rescue?