A surprise visit from her mother during harvest season turns deadly when a local professor is found murdered. Meg Corey, already stressed by understaffing at her orchard, finds her life further complicated by her mother's secretive arrival. When an old friend of her mother's is discovered dead in a cider house, Meg's mother becomes the prime suspect, forcing Meg to uncover the truth before her own mother is implicated.

The premise sets up a classic cozy mystery with a personal stake for the protagonist. The inclusion of an orchard and harvest season suggests a focus on rural life and potentially seasonal elements within the plot. The narrative framework appears to be a traditional third-person perspective following Meg as she navigates the investigation and her mother's secrets. The mystery is framed around uncovering a hidden motive and identifying the killer among a cast of characters connected to the victim and Meg's mother.