Samantha Olivares, spunky rancher and inadvertent murder magnet, made a promise to her cousin Jack, and she always keeps her promises.

Chief Medical Examiner, Jack Olivares has worked up the courage to meet his mother's family in Japan and needs Sam by his side. Used to leading the show, he

suddenly finds himself on the outside looking in when a family member is arrested for murder.

As the cousins are immersed in what feels like an alternate world, their perceptions about life and family are changed forever.

In this traditional whodunit, author Alice Kanaka offers a unique perspective on life in Japan as she experienced it. Commonplace Japanese family life and a first-time visitor's point of view, combined with a dash of murder, provide depth and understanding of familial love across cultural borders.