A muerte, a mystery, and a pocket full of marigolds. Stoic Detective Gillian Pepperpot leaves Ankle Bite Falls to go undercover at the Stubborn theatre to catch a thief. Officer Gillian Pepperpot does not get hunches or gut feelings. She sees patterns. Connections between seemingly unrelated dots. And right now, a series of petty thefts in Ankle Bite, New Virginia tells her the perpetrator is after a bigger prize. Like a marigold-bright arrow, all clues point toward Stubborn, a sleepy town with a crime rate softer than a kitten up a tree. A town that's about to blend its annual Day of the Dead celebration with the unveiling of an ancient magical manuscript, the Rose Grimoire. Gillian excels at fading into any background, so she shouldn't have much trouble escaping notice in the midst of the color-saturated festival. But someone does notice. Vicente de la Cruz, a man as warm and colorful as the music he composes. Gillian never shies away from a challenge, but she's determined to never let her heart be stolen again. Especially by Vicente, who, when the grimoire goes missing and a body turns up, could be the prime suspect—or the next one to fall victim to dark magic.