Welcome to Marietta, Ohio, where the past is never far away and the present invites adventure and intrigue. Bring together three reunited friends, a historic building-turned-inn, and mysteries past and present. Blend in the century-old story of Prudence Willard and her clandestine work with the Underground Railroad, and you'll begin to discover the Secrets of Wayfarers Inn.

In Secrets of Wayfarers Inn, Book 2: River of Life, Tess finds a quilt with an unusual pattern in the underground secret room that once housed runaway slaves. Does the quilt provide something more than a source of warmth? What bygone stories and secrets are waiting to be deciphered in its intricate stitch work? Within the walls of the Wayfarers Inn, and amid the streets and residences of this historic Ohio River town, LuAnn, Tess, and Janice find evidence that exposes the darker chapters of local history—as well as its citizens’ unsung acts of heroism and kindness.

When Janice Eastman wakes from a nap to find her five-year-old grandson has gone missing, she must confront crippling fears as her search takes her into the darkest recesses of Wayfarers Inn. There, she makes a startling discovery: skeletal human remains lie alongside an antique photo of a woman holding a child. The discovery of the bones pulls her, Tess, and LuAnn into a mystery that they must quickly solve before archaeological and general curiosity from the public and media threatens to further delay the inn’s opening. Will this be the end of their dream for Wayfarers Inn?

On the Fourth of July, Tess and her friends find a mysterious red, white, and blue brooch in the curio cabinet at Wayfarers Inn. Who could have left it there, and why? When Tess takes it to a local jeweler for appraisal, it is stolen out of his hands before they can find a single clue about its origins. As the friends dig in to the mystery, they learn tidbits about the brooch's colorful history, including the fact that among their current guests are descendants of a man suspected, one hundred and fifty years ago, of stealing this same brooch. As their search for answers progresses, their friend and handyman, Tory "Thorn" Thornton seems distracted and out of sorts. Can Tess uncover why he's acting this way and help him work through the difficulties he is so reticent to share?

When Tess and inn guest Elliott MacIntosh embark on a metal-detecting excursion on the property once owned by Underground Railroad conductors Jason and Prudence Willard, the pair stumbles across a fascinating discovery: half of a rare slave tag, perfectly cut and notched. Who did it belong to? And what happened to the other half? As the Inn Crowd sorts through clues to find the missing piece and learn the story behind the tag, Tippi Coddlesworth, an old friend—and sometime rival—from college comes to the inn for a visit. But her overt curiosity makes Tess wonder…does she know more about the story behind the slave tag than she is telling them?