The Texas hill town of Magnolia Bluff looms as a mere distraction for Bliss Jager when the new-to-her motorcycle breaks down under a banner publicizing the annual persimmon festival. Her other thought at the time: What in the world is a persimmon?

Only in town an hour, she's offered pizza-for-life and a job at Doyle's General Store. The job comes with two perks: a yellow throat toucan, which is odd enough, but add to that the ghost of Merrick Doyle and life takes a vociferously strange turn. The fatherly man is friendly and much loved, and related to most everyone in town. Trouble is, he's been dead a month. Townspeople think he died of natural causes but he insists he was murdered.

Can Bliss expose the killer before people find out she's been getting clues from a ghost, and um...a toucan? More important, can she find the killer before the killer finds her?