If you've spent your entire life running your family as ruthlessly as you've run the family business, it is perhaps not the best idea to gather them all on a cold and dark remote island to celebrate your 80th birthday. When Margrethe Cullenberg-Franzén falls to her death during her birthday celebration, Ian Ahmed is convinced it's murder. Trapped in a wintry landscape of muted colors and creeping shadows, he and novelist Berit Gardner struggle to unravel the toxic family secrets behind Margrethe's imposing legacy. As winter deepens and the ice seals the islands in silence, the question echoes louder: Who stood to gain the most from the matriarch's fall? And how long before the killer strikes again?

When mystery author Berit Gardner agrees to attend a writer's conference in the idyllic French countryside, she dreams of basking in the sun and nurturing budding talent. But her vacation takes a dark turn when the keynote speaker --- a notorious literary titan known for his biting critiques --- drops dead at the end of her lecture. As whispers of foul play swirl, Berit quickly realizes she's stepped into a tangled web of jealousy, betrayal and long-held grudges. Enter the French commissaire, who is less than thrilled to have a curious author meddling in her investigation. But as the suspects pile up, she reluctantly recognizes that Berit's sharp instincts could crack the case wide open. With a colorful cast of authors, agents and aspiring writers all hiding secrets, the stakes rise higher with every clue uncovered.

The small, rundown village of Great Diddling is full of stories. The way the villagers avoid outsiders, the furtive stares and whispers in the presence of newcomers --- author Berit Gardner can sense the edge of a story waiting to be unraveled, and she's just the person to do it. In fact, with a book deadline looming over her and no manuscript, Berit doesn't just want this story. She needs it. Then, while attending a village tea party, Berit becomes part of the action herself. An explosion in the library of the village's grand manor kills a local man, and the resulting investigation and influx of outsiders sends the quiet, rundown community into chaos. The residents of Great Diddling rewrite their own narrative and transform the death of one of their own from a tragedy into a new beginning.

The Pine Creek Motel has seen better days. Henny would call it charming, but she's always seen the best in things. Like now, when she's just met an untimely end crossing the road. She's not going to let a tiny thing like death stop her from living fully --- not when her friends and family need her the most. After the funeral is over, her body is buried, and the last casserole dish is empty, Henny is still around. She's not sure why, but she realizes she has one last opportunity to help her friends discover the happiness they once knew before they lose the motel and cabins they've cherished for years.

Broken Wheel, Iowa, has never seen anyone like Sara, who traveled all the way from Sweden just to meet her book-loving pen pal. When she arrives, however, she finds Amy's funeral guests just leaving. The residents of Broken Wheel are happy to look after their bewildered visitor --- not much else to do in a small town that's almost beyond repair. They just never imagined that she'd start a bookstore. Or that books could bring them together --- and change everything.