Summer is a hectic time of the year for Annie Darling. Sun and scorching temperatures never fail to bring swarms of tourists to her mystery bookstore Death on Demand for the latest beach reads. But Annie still finds time to enjoy herself. The Browards Rock Fourth of July dance is just around the corner, and the island is buzzing with excitement Shell Hurst included. Shell is the kind of woman wives hate for good reason and most of them wish she would just disappear. But when she does and a teenage girl is the only one who seems to notice Annie cant help but feel like someone should be looking for her. Last seen walking into the pine trees at the Fourth of July fireworks display Shell has seemingly vanished without a trace. The residents of Browards Rock grow uneasy when a second islander mysteriously disappears. Annie and her husband Max know something dangerous is brewing. They soon find themselves following a twisted trail marked by blackmail betrayal and adultery winding from the corridors of the islands lovely inn to a pier lashed by pelting rain to a gathering on the terrace of a country club where a trap is set for a calculating killer.