Sheriff Rockwell is settling into an unwanted retirement until his old war buddy and neighboring Sheriff is mysteriously shot. When overlooked evidence points to corruption, Alden must take the investigation into his own hands or else standby while a greater evil takes over the town.

Hard-hearted New York novelist Dru Cassadine...known for her holiday romance stories (even though she is antilove and anti-Christmas)...is desperate to get her mojo back after a string of flops (and a not-so-subtle threat by her publisher that he'll drop her if she has another failure). She decides that a change of scenery might get her creative juices flowing and heads south for the winter, landing in a place known as Harbor Pointe. She doesn't quite get what she came for. She gets much more.