A year ago, widow Rachel Morehouse came to Andy Carpenter's Tara Foundation looking for a canine companion, going home with a chow chow named Lion. Later, Rachel calls Andy begging for a favor: If she dies, will he take care of Lion if her stepson cannot? Andy agrees, and promptly forgets about it—until he receives a call informing him that Rachel has been murdered, and her stepson is now in police custody. In this 25th outing (after Best in Snow), Andy is not so sure that the right man is in jail, so as he takes Lion into his home, he tracks down a killer.