Settling her family into their new home in Georgia, Air Force wife and professional organizer Ellie Avery is busy. With two children, a party to plan for Mitch's promotion, and new contacts to develop, Ellie decides to relax by taking the family dog for a peaceful stroll. But what they find is an abandoned graveyard disturbed by recent flooding leaving two corpses in full view. One is that of a World War I casualty. But the second is recent. Ellie's investigation leads her to the missing-persons case of Jodi Lockworth. Jodi once lived in the house the Averys are renting, and though she was a well liked member of the community, her newspaper reporting put her on the wrong side of some prominent citizens. When Ellie discovers a clue in her own home, she becomes the target of a killer who'll stop at nothing to protect a deadly secret. With dozens of guests about to arrive in her back yard, the only thing Ellie hasn't planned for is a party crasher who intends to make this celebration Ellie's last.