When Claire Fitzpatrick discovers the lifeless body of a new friend, she suspects murder rather than the accident it appears to be. When a new job takes her to the campus of Eldridge College, the college administration seems more concerned with covering up scandalous events than revealing the truth. With the help of Police Chief Scott Gordon, and her cousins, Hannah and Maggie, Claire is determined to find out who killed her friend and why. What she discovers, however, is that he was not the person she thought he was, and there are multiple suspects with motives for murder. It's September, and Hannah Campbell has her hands full wrangling her four-year-old son, Sammy, a wild thing that does not want to be tamed. Now that he's starting preschool, he's expected to follow the rules and stay in school. Meanwhile, Hannah is tangling with dangerous beasts, one of whom is her husband's ex-fiancée.