What do the sinking of Mussolini's plane in Lake Roosevelt, Arizona (the dictator unfortunately not being aboard), the placement of a house of ill repute in Globe, Arizona, and the events of December 24th, 1944, (in what is now Papago Park, partially in Phoenix), have in common? They are all part of the history of Arizona and the bedrock upon which Dry Death in Arizona is founded. However, the action takes place in the real world of Arizona today, which is given color and depth by the real world of Arizona's yesterday. One would think that trying to rebuild a life shattered by kidney disease and adapting to the demands of dialysis would be enough of a challenge for anyone. However, when someone attacks former Vassar professor of Anglo Saxon Studies, Abby Taylor, on her own patio, she fears that she has been targeted for an immediate death which has nothing to do with renal problems. But why would anyone want to kill her? And why would anyone murder a local nephrologist with a "killer kidney?" Or shoot an annoying acquaintance of Abby's with a classic rifle? Mysteries compound, and Abby, together with her faithful Corgi dog, Francis, and the intriguing, ever dearer David Neale, find themselves once again drawn into a maelstrom of mayhem and murder...