Shelby Morris came to Holiday Bay after receiving a huge inheritance from a woman she'd never met, which she'd been destined to share with two half-sisters she'd never knew existed. It took some time for the three very different siblings to settle the estate in a manner that was agreeable to all of them, but in the end, it was decided that Shelby would stay and take care of things.

Shelby was at loose ends once she'd settled the estate since she'd been working long hours her entire life and wasn't used to so much downtime. When she found out a hangout down by the commercial fishing dock was for sale, she decided to take a chance and invest in her future. 

The Bistro, which consists of a restaurant, bar, rooftop patio, and live music platform, was exactly the sort of thing Shelby needed to find her footing in Holiday Bay. She knows she'll need help, so she enlists the help of new chef and frequent guest to The Inn at Holiday Bay, Amy Hogan, as well as part-time waitress and longtime local Nikki Peyton. Together with the staff and regular customers that appeared to have come with the place, Shelby is certain she'll be able to create something special. 

In book 1 in the series, Shelby decides to clean out the second floor of the building which had been used by the previous owner as a storage area. While clearing out the large dusty space, she finds a stack of boxes with so much dust on them that she is certain that they'd been there for decades. Shelby opens to boxes and finds items left behind from the owner of the garment factory that had utilized the space half a century ago. During the course of sifting through the old treasures, Shelby finds a journal that appeared to have been left behind by a man who lived in the area in the 1960s and '70s.

Upon examination, Shelby determines that the journal features pages and pages of code, which she suspects, if decoded, will reveal a secret message. The man who left the journal is long dead, so Shelby enlists the help of her staff, customers, local friends, and the ex-cop turned PI who uses a booth in the bar to meet customers, to help her solve the mystery. 

Join Shelby, Amy, Nikki, and a lineup of new as well as familiar characters, as they try to solve what, to that point, had been the cold case of the century.