"Get up, quietly," he said. "Behave, and nobody has to get hurt. You understand?"
Cornelia Pettijohn thought she was leaving Florida. She boarded the train, but so did three gangsters. Instead of a quiet trip back to Colorado, Cornelia is kidnapped at gunpoint and pressured into solving the murder of a beautiful young blues singer. No matter how carefully Cornelia explains that she is not a detective, her reputation for solving crimes has convinced the gangsters she can get pal, Chago, out of a jam. Luckily for her, her uncle and Teddy Lawless saw what happened and gave pursuit. Soon, the three snowbirds are reunited and up to their ears in hot water. Just when Cornelia thinks it can't get any worse, the trio gets a surprise visit from Teddy's estranged mother. She's heard about Teddy's engagement and is here to see her finally wed. It started as a polite fiction. Tampa Bay's Cuban quarter has never been more dangerous. The snowbirds search for clues, but someone is looking for them, too. Club Tropical is closed after two witnesses are murdered. Then, a tumble down the stairs leaves Cornelia trapped with a dead man. She isn't sure she can untangle this mess before she loses her life.