Sunny McKillip moved to the small town of Mule Stop, Texas, to take a position as a professor's assistant at the local university. Shortly after she arrives, however, the professor is fired, leaving Sunny desperate for work. Still, she's not quite prepared for the odd job she winds up taking: personal assistant to Honeybelle Hensley, Mule Stop's wealthy, elderly matriarch. Sunny isn't quite sure what her job description is, but a lot of it seems to involve taking care of Miss Ruffles, Honeybelle's incorrigible dog, who'd just as soon eat your shoes as look at them. But Sunny's job becomes even stranger when Honeybelle dies and leaves all her worldly fortune to Miss Ruffles...and leaves Miss Ruffles in Sunny's care. Sunny is rightfully concerned for Miss Ruffles' safety, but as she learns more about Honeybelle's last days, Sunny also begins to wonder if there was more to Honeybelle's death than meets the eye. Sunny quickly finds herself deeply embroiled in the politics of a small town and its ruling family, with a cowboy lawyer scrutinizing her every move and a killer on the loose...a killer who might be coming after Sunny next.