Between her latest "sure–fire" foray into the food industry—video restaurant reviews—and her concern over boyfriend Homicide Detective Paavo Smith‘s depressed state, Angie Amalfi‘s plate is full to overflowing. Paavo has never come to terms with the fact that his mother abandoned him when he was four, leaving vehind only an antique brooch to remember her by. But when the bauble vanishes, the jeweler who was repairing it is murdered, and Paavo‘s surrogate father is critically wounded by a would–be burglar, Paavo decides it‘s time to discover the truth about his errant parent‘s life and mysterious disappearance.
Gourmet chef and eager sleuth Angie Smells a tasty mystery cooking. But what‘s bubbling in this pot is a lethal goulash of intrigues, betrayals, FBI deceptions, and murderous Russian mafia mayhem—an old family recipe for disaster for Angie and her policeman beau.