Wild animal removal specialist Elmo Simpson has another murder on his hands. It's starting to become a habit...

When a body is found on the beach near the Paradise Springs marina in the sleepy panhandle of Florida, Elmo's disinclined to weigh in on it. But the victim is Desiree LaFontaine, former first mate of Elmo's girlfriend, Nic, who apparently was the last person to see Desiree alive. Which makes Nicola suspect number one.

But there are other suspects. Like Craig Abbott, owner of Craig's Cruises, who's been taking a slice of Nic's tour boat customers ever since he set up shop. Or could it be Desiree's old boyfriend Bobby Darrin, who just plain doesn't want to be found? And why is Drunk Paul, who's rarely drunk but hangs around the marina, acting so squirrelly?

Elmo doesn't believe for a minute Nic's a murderer, so he dives headlong into the seamy underbelly of Paradise Springs' tourism industry to try to clear her name. But time is short, and Elmo must reel the murderer in before Nic is put away and Elmo ends up under water–for good.