A wry and worldly crime reporter from Manhattan finds himself returning to his small-town upstate New York roots when he inherits a cottage on Seneca Lake from his favorite uncle. But before he can kick back and enjoy his new digs in the middle of the Finger Lakes' picturesque wine country, T.S.W. Sheridan is determined to find out who killed his Uncle Charlie Dugan - and why. Could it have been the real estate developer looking to add Charlie's land to his properties? Or the local wine maker, who needed more lakeside acres to expand his vineyard? Perhaps even the flinty, Bible-thumping old widow next door, who didn't seem to have much use for Sheridan or any other man. With a little help from the local sheriff, who was an old friend of Uncle Charlie's, and with a little romance with a comely waitress named Sorrel Brown to ease the way, Sheridan wades hip-deep into what could be the biggest - and last - scoop he ever gets.