Aurora Teagarden, a Lawrenceton librarian and President of a real murders discussion club, is still navigating the early stages of a romantic relationship with ex-CIA
   agent Martin Bartell. Ever since she got a sizable inheritance from an acquaintance, Aurora has wanted to buy a house. Despite her real estate agent mother Aida's
   advice, Aurora finds what she believes is the perfect house in the country, five miles outside of Lawrenceton. The fact that it is the infamous Julius house does not
   discourage her from buying it. The Julius family disappeared without a trace four years ago. They had only recently moved in from Spokane, and were apparently off
   to dinner with a friend, only never to be seen again. Based on circumstantial evidence she finds in the house, Aurora believes the Julius' disappearance was not
   accidental. Along with her fellow real murders club colleagues John Queensland, her best friend and newspaper reporter Sally Allison, who has been assigned to do
   a follow-up story on the case, and ex-juvie Perry Dell, who decide to investigate, much to the chagrin of Homicide Detective Lynn Smith, who was one of the officers
   on the case four years ago, she is on the case. The evidence points to relationship problems from when the Juliuses lived in Spokane. Aurora also find many secret
   places in the house, which may be further clues that the Julius' were indeed murdered, and the murderer believes she is getting too close to finding out the truth.