J.W. hasn't seen legendary bluesman Corrie Appleyard since he was a child, and when Corrie arrives on the Vineyard for a rare concert appearance, J.W. couldn't be happier. It's almost enough to take his mind off the series of arson fires that have destroyed the dilapidated summer cottages that a local slumlord rents out at outrageously high prices to college kids who've come to work and play in the famous summer colony. But when Corrie's precious guitar is found at the site of the latest fire, and an unidentified body is pulled from the ruins, J.W. fears the worst. Although he's already busy trying to track down a blackmailer who's been threatening Susanna Quick, his wife Zee's close friend, J.W. agrees to investigate the arson fires for the owner of the cottages, which leads him into still another unsolved mystery: why is Zee so opposed to his newest client?