When booksellers Molly O'Donnell and Emma Clarke set up at the Antiquarian Book Fair in St. Petersburg, Florida, the last thing they expect to find is a dead body. When respected book dealer Jasper Ross shows interest in Emma's most valuable books, she is jubilant. But then, Jasper is found dead—and Emma's books he borrowed have disappeared.

Then booksellers at the book fair find many of their high-end illustrated volumes missing, then returned—with their color plates cut out. Who would do such a thing? Molly and Emma join forces with Stewart, a transgender print dealer, to get to the bottom of Jasper's murder and the destruction of the books. Their investigation takes them from antique shops in Old Florida coastal towns to the home of Carmen, a flamboyant, small-time drug dealer and former flame of Molly's. Are the book dealers all what they seem? As they investigate, Molly and Emma find their relationship developing into more than friendship. But will they live to enjoy it?