After inheriting her mother's printing and party-planning business, Lacey Langdon moves back to her sleepy hometown of Willow Bluffs, perched on New Jersey's Palisades. When her great aunt, Tessa Langdon Vander Horn, a well-known and beloved soap opera star, sells her nineteenth-century estate and donates ten acres to the development of a community park, Lacey's new venture is put at the helm of the opening ceremony. But the festivities quickly come to an end when the body of town councilman Glenn Hartman is found on the bank of the Hudson River. Partnering with her former classmate, lawyer Derek Conover, they dig deep into the case to find out who is behind the murder. Suspicions abound, but Lacey and Derek hit a snag when one of their prime suspects drops dead at Lacey's next event. With a second body added to the count, tensions rise in Willow Bluffs. Caught in the crossfire when remnants of a family tragedy resurface, Lacey and Dere