Before dawn one morning in early summer, Park Ranger Molly Tinker and her standard poodle are jogging at Pond Park when they discover a shoe sticking halfway under the evergreen tree on the hill. Lifting the shoe, Molly discovers that the shoe is attached to a dead body. Molly and her poodle jog home to awaken her husband, Chief of Police Eric Wade, to tell him the bad news. The residents of this small New England town have no memory of murder and are disturbed by this violent crime. Unfortunately, as the summer passes, Molly and her dog discover more bodies under the evergreen tree on the hill. Molly becomes an unofficial detective, helping the police with the murder investigation. Her unorthodox detecting skills entertain the reader and lead to the arrest of a killer.