Crossword editor Belle Graham's new friend Karen Tacete is in trouble. Her dentist husband has been kidnapped without a trace-and her daughter is the victim of strange verbal threats that mirror a series of nursery rhyme-themed crosswords being sent to Belle.

When Karen's husband turns up dead, Belle's P.I. hubby Roscoe investigates, and learns that the dead man had a dark side. Now, even as Karen's own past is revealed, Belle must wonder: Just who are the Tacetes-and who wants them dead?