In an attempt to escape a hellish marriage, Rachel Stanhope retreats to her Aunt Miriam's ranch in Colorado. As a favour to her bird-loving aunt, Rachel agrees to host meetings of the local bird watching society. But on her first birding expedition to find a Le Conte's sparrow, she makes a much more disturbing discovery; the body of a journalist investigating a local bird trafficking scheme. Now sweet Aunt Miriam is the prime suspect, and it's up to Rachel to solve the murder mystery.