When she discovers a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, Vera Wong, a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands, calls the police but not before swiping the flash drive from the body, setting a trap for the killer that becomes complicated by unexpected friendships with her customers.

Informed that an unknown cousin is in jail, Chinese-American private detective Lydia Chin and her partner, Bill Smith, travel to the Mississippi Delta, where they confront river-levee disputes, computer scams, and questions about her cousin's innocence.