In her forties, unmarried, and, by her own standards, almost homely, Penny Fragos has built a quiet life, one that brings her modest pleasure.  Her work at Marcello Dodge is routine and quiet; her life in her cottage on Pine Island where she lives alone is satisfying.  She reads.  She visits the local wildlife sanctuary for birding and spiritual comfort and she has no reason to make changes.  So it comes as a surprise that she is, or might be, actually courted by Henry Chambers with whom she works, and by Owen Wallace, who she meets at a party.  The rivalry, if that’s what it is amuses her.  But when Ernie Coyle, a salesman at Marcello disappears and is later found to have been murdered, Penny discovers that she knows more than she should.