"Secret Staircase Construction is under attack, and Tempest Raj feels helpless. After former client Julian Rhodes tried to kill his wife, he blamed her "accident" on the home renovation company's craftsmanship. Now the family business - known for bringing magic into homes through hidden doors, floating staircases, and architectural puzzle walls - is at a breaking point. No amount of Scottish and Indian meals from her grandfather can distract Tempest...

Private investigator Kat Colorado, stunned by the suicide of Sacramento attorney James Randolph, is drawn into a dangerous web of blackmail when she attempts to find out why Randolph would take his own life.

The members of the Women's Murder Club face an unspeakable menace. Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer is shopping with the newest member of the Women's Murder Club, lawyer Yuki Castellano, and Yuki's mother, Keiko, when suddenly Keiko collapses. She's rushed to San Francisco Medical Center where her condition stabilizes. Yet days later, the hospital calls Yuki with devastating news. Keiko was given the wrong medication and it brought on a fatal heart attack....

Kat Colorado's current case is really getting to her. It was she who found the mangled body of a young woman on the road, apparently the victim of a hit-and-run accident. But then the victim's mother turns up in her office asking for help--convinced that her daughter's death was no accident.