Thirty-something veterinarian Ally Winter has found a new leash on life since she moved back to her hometown of Willow Bluff, Wisconsin. But when she takes Domino, the black standard poodle she's boarding for the weekend, for a sunny September stroll along the shore of Lake Michigan, the diminutive dog dashes off, only to return with a single polka-dotted high-heeled shoe. Retracing Domino's paw prints back to a weeping willow tree, they find the other shoe. It's still on the foot of 20-year-old Pricilla Green — lying dead beneath the willow, with a silk scarf knotted tightly around her neck.

Willow Bluff's finest — and handsomest — detective, Noah Jorgenson, is soon on the tail of the killer. But he has another worry on his mind when Ally's grandfather, a lifelong true-crime buff, starts to suspect that the recent burglary of a local big-box store may have some connection to Pricilla's murder. Noah cautions Ally to keep Gramps well away from the homicide investigation, but the old dog is drawn to danger like a puppy is to a squeaky ball.

The fur flies as Ally, Noah, Gramps, and Domino race the clock to fetch the felon. It will take all of their canine canniness to comb out the twists and curls in this wild and woolly case. And if they fail, they won't live to go walkies again.