Florida reporter Brandy O'Bannon is intrigued by a classified ad that asks an unidentified woman, who has been missing for twenty years, to come forward. The young mother and her two-year old daughter disappeared as Hurricane Agnes swept into the historic Gulf coast village of Cedar Key, although no fatalities were reported. When Brandy learns that a woman's skeleton was found a year later in the basement of one of the state's oldest and Cedar Key's most charming hotel, she begins a search for answers. The grisly fate of the private detective who placed the ad is soon discovered by Brandy's golden retriever. While trying to resolve both mysteries, Brandy ferrets out a new friend's true identity and guides her to self-knowledge. In the process, Brandy becomes the victim of attack, kidnapping, and hurricane. She outwits both nature and assailants, helps solve two brutal murders—and gets her front page story.