The beating of a gentle minister inside his church and a hate message on one wall launch wry-witted librarian Juanita Wills on a quest to learn who's shattering the peace of her small Oklahoma town.

Defying her policeman boyfriend's warning against amateur sleuthing, Juanita decodes a mysterious cipher bookmark, goes on a "stakeout" and tracks a secret local militia.

When a "war" of quotations between her feuding assistant librarians takes a threatening turn, she even suspects one of them. Finally, she comes face-to-face with the killer.