Eva Fairchild is reveling in the idyllic, if insular, setting of her adopted home at Marten's Marina when a rash of newcomers triggers speculation and the not-so-latent nosy tendencies among the residents. Eva is appalled to learn that she's acquired a surprising new persona along with her new location—since when does she get involved with other people's problems?

But Ancer's Potts' distress is not to be ignored. Everyone knows the absentminded genius needs friendly nudges now and then to get out of his shell, but Eva's certain his current trouble extends beyond the realm of social awkwardness and preoccupied introversion. And that was before he disappeared.

Eva is tossed into a sketchy, shadowy world of subterfuge when it becomes apparent that the secret project Ancer was working on is in high demand, and by dubious parties. In the race to find the missing researcher and secure the knowledge that's inside his head, Eva is forced to rely upon her new friends. But trying to explain to the handsome police detective, Vaughn Malloy, how she turned his elderly mother into an accessory to a crime could result in a real mess.

In this sedate floating community on the Willamette River, first impressions are flat-out wrong.