What do a dead judge, a bird organization, and a homeless woman have in common? That's what Cameron Cripps Hayman would like to know.

When Judge Lundstrom is murdered in her office with her very own gavel leaving her little Pekingese, Bailiff, behind, Cam and her crew set out to solve the case. But with Canal Days keeping her team busy, and a falling out between her last two Action Agency members, Cam finds herself searching for a new partner in crime.

Josie Jensen, a mobile vet in town for the weekend, fits the bill. Between Josie's keen intuition and her knowledge of the shady bird conservation group that seems to be running the county election for judge, the two of them set out to catch the killer before he flies the coop!