In two weeks, when the semester is over, Mercer Mann’s adjunct classes will finish, and she will be unemployed. She is depressed about being 31 years old and jobless, which explains why, when Donna Watson contacted her about teaching at a private academy, Mercer reluctantly agrees to meet for lunch. She doesn’t want to teach high school but can’t turn down a steady paycheck, especially since her second novel is three years past its deadline.

When she arrives at the restaurant, however, Donna Watson quickly informs Mercer that her real name is Elaine Shipley. She works for a security company investigating the theft of five Fitzgerald manuscripts from Princeton, on behalf of Princeton’s insurance company. She believes that the manuscripts are being held by Bruce Cable, a book dealer and owner of Bay Books, on Camino Island. Elaine explains that they’ve tried unsuccessfully to get close to him, hoping to access his vault, where he keeps his most valuable books.

Mercer reflects on how her grandmother, Tessa, owned a cottage on Camino Island, and she had spent every summer there as a child. After Tessa’s death 11 years ago, Mercer hasn’t returned, but the family still owns the cottage.