Nora Pennington, who owns Magic Books, believes a well-chosen book can bring recovery and wish. But she and the rest of the members of the Secret, Book, and Scone Society know that, sometimes, practical help is necessary too. Such is the case with the reed-thin young lady hiding in the fiction section of Nora’s shop, wearing a medical center ID and a patchwork of faded bruises. She phone calls herself Abilene, and, although Nora and her close friends offer function, shelter, and a supportive hearing, their guest isn’t ready to divulge her secrets. But when a customer is found dead within an assumed suicide, Nora uncovers an association that points to Abilene…as the think or another target. When a second loss of life hits town, Nora and her intrepid close friends must help the greenhorn sheriff discern truth from fiction and prevent the killer before another story is prematurely taken to a close.