Following a meeting of the Blue Hill Library's writing group. Lucas Miller disappears. His teenage daughters, Remi and Bella, who are also part-time library employees, are unable to console their distraught mother when Lucas' car is found crashed into a tree outside of town, without him in it. Anne reluctantly agrees to look into the published author's disappearance, but the mystery gets more tangled with each clue she finds. What does the strange code in Lucas' last manuscript mean? How is his disappearance related to the rash of break-ins happening around town? Meanwhile, Ben and Liddie's grandparents are coming to town to spend time with them. Their presence floods Anne with bittersweet memories of her late husband, and their attempts to encourage her to consider dating again upset Ben. As the case keeps pulling Anne's attention away, she struggles to give her family the time they deserve.