Sadie Coleman is delighted to have booked novelist Linnea Bliss for an event at The Inkwell, her literary-themed pub. The author and her assistant, Marcie, are staying at Shady Creek Manor, a hotel rumored to still hold hidden treasure somewhere within its walls. But in this follow-up to An Ale of Two Cities, when Marcie falls to her death, Sadie wonders if the crime is connected to the vandalized vehicles of a local film crew. Or could the poor woman's defenestration have anything to do with the legendary treasure? As Shady Creek Manor prepares for a masquerade ball, Sadie is determined to unmask the killer, but she could meet a bitter end.