Mark Daniels is a retired newspaper reporter turned mystery writer. He and his wife Sherry escape Northern Michigan's weather and spend the winters in the Florida Keys. They enjoy the sun, warmth, tropical ambiance and most of all the lack of snow. They're invited to the Gangster Gala, a Keys area hospital fund raising event, where Mark meets an elderly gentleman with one foot firmly planted in the past. The man tells Mark his ex-wife is missing and asks for help locating her. Finding the man interesting, and a possible character for a future novel, Mark offers to ask around about the woman missing in paradise. The investigation leads Mark through the lush tropical islands, meeting a cast of colorful locals and an amusing assortment of snowbirds and tourists. But as the search for the man's missing ex-wife intensifies the bodies begin to pile up.