China Bayles is fit to spit when her husband's troubled ex-wife, Sally, shows up at her herb shop, claiming to be broke with nowhere else to turn. China isn't sure if it's the goodness of her heart or the scent of Christmas wreaths, but she invites Sally to stay. 

Then China starts receiving menacing calls from an "ex" of Sally's, who seems to have a connection to the murder of her parents nearly a decade ago. With her P.I. husband out of town, it's up to China to weed out the truth behind whatever it is Sally's running from before danger catches up to all of them.... 

Susan Wittig Albert (born 1940) is a mystery writer from Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. She is the author of the China Bayles herbal mysteries, a popular and acclaimed series centering around the title character's deductive reasoning and knowledge as an herbalist and ex-lawyer, who solves murders with her best friend, Ruby Wilcox, owner of a New Age shop. She writes a column for Country Living Gardener magazine. Her writing career has included the Nancy Drew mysteries under the penname Carolyn Keene in the 1980s. She is a popular guest speaker at both herbal clubs and women's groups around the country. Albert has described her books as "cozy mysteries," because they do not describe much violence or gratuitous behavior. She and her husband, Bill, have also co-written the The Robin Paige Victorian Mysteries, a series of a dozen mysteries set in the Late Victorian era. Albert is also the author of The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter, a series of mysteries featuring author Beatrix Potter. She currently resides in Bertram, Texas, near Austin, with her husband, Bill Albert.