A glowing wood stove, a cozy log cabin, and shelves full of books are all Rain Wilmot needs to ride out the Wisconsin winter, now that she's made her family's Lofty Pines library her year-round home. But the warm-hearted librarian's blood runs cold when local man, Wallace Benson, is found dead during the annual Ice Fishing Jamboree.

After Benson's body is found in his ice shanty, Rain recalls that she recently saw the victim in her library, borrowing a few cookbooks to prepare for the fishing tournament's communal "chili dump." She later finds these same books returned to the library's drop box, with an enigmatic note from Benson to Rain.

As Rain seeks to understand the message, the prime suspect becomes Rain's friend Nick, who was the last person to see Wallace alive and who returned to the Jamboree with a nasty cut on his hand. The knife found in his tackle box only makes Nick's troubles worse. But Rain keeps fishing for other suspects. Was the killer Danny, who lost his arm to a logging accident involving Wallace? Or Danny's bitter father, whose dreams of retirement were dashed by his son's accident?

With the help of her friends Julia and Jace, Rain sets out to hook the real culprit and clear Nick's name. But can her sleuthing skills protect her from a killer who'd like to take her out of circulation?