Someone has broken into the Imogene Museum. Curator Meredith Morehouse finds an empty ornate frame, the still-life painting hurriedly sheared from its moorings, and calls in Sheriff Marge Stettler as she scrambles to identify the burglar. Not because his taste in art is questionable but because the thief's intimate knowledge of the museum and its collections indicates much more is at stake.

Is the thief a friend or stranger? It doesn't help that the population of Platts Landing, Washington, has just blossomed with the influx of Hollywood movie-types roaming the countryside in search of the perfect setting for their next documentary. Nor that Meredith's boyfriend, Pete, has just spotted his ex-girlfriend among the production crew.

Can Meredith protect Sockeye County's iconic cultural institution and her beloved employer, Rupert Hagg, from the thief's sinister intent?