When the rental house shared by chef Yolanda Garcia and her irrepressible aunt Ferdinanda is destroyed by arson, the pair moves in with cop-turned-PI Ernest McLeod. But then Ernest is shot dead and his house is set on fire, nearly killing Yolanda, Ferdinanda, and their good friend, Colorado caterer Goldy Schulz, along with nine beagle puppies that Ernest had recently rescued from a puppy mill.

Concerned for her friends, Goldy invites them to stay with her. But even her house isn’t safe. After a failed break-in and the discovery of a second body, the intrepid Goldy decides to swap her chef’s hat for a sleuthing cap. Now she’s got to move fast because it’s crunch time and a killer is getting dangerously close.

A month before Christmas, I saw a ghost. . . .

While catering a holiday breakfast feast for the staff of the Aspen Meadow Library, Goldy Schulz spots a woman who resembles Sandee Brisbane—the Sandee Brisbane who killed Goldy's ex-husband, the Jerk. But Sandee is supposed to be dead. Or so everyone believes.

Goldy's suspicions mount when the body of a man is found in the library with a valuable map stashed in his clothing. But the holiday madness is only just beginning. Soon Goldy is drawn into the dangerous, double-crossing world of high-end map dealing. And like the ghost of Christmas past, Sandee keeps making an appearance. Could she be out to prove that revenge is sweet?