When free spirit Mallie Monroe finally decides to settle down, she hauls her antique Airstream trailer and teacup poodle to Coral Island, Florida, where she takes a reporting job at the local newspaper. Her restless, gypsy lifestyle is finally behind her. Unfortunately, her visions of paradise quickly fade during the long, hot summer. Her editor hates her writing, her poodle hates the beach, and her skin hates the blistering sun. To keep her editor happy, she registers for a local author's Summer Writers' Institute. But when the author is murdered on the eve of a tropical storm and an uptight, local cop, Detective Billie, considers Mallie a suspect, she turns her journalistic talents to investigative reporting on a story that may get her killed.