An explosion in the middle of the night plummets local muralist Josephine Stuart out of bed and down the street to determine which of her neighbors' homes in sleepy Aromas, California, has been destroyed. When she discovers fire trucks and police vehicles surrounding the Hooley home, she fears that the elderly brother/sister residents have both been killed in the blast. That is, until the next morning when she discovers ninety-year-old Emmett Hooley asleep on her couch. Turns out, Emmett wasn't at home when his house was blown to bits, he was in a secluded shack behind it where he built cuckoo clocks. The old man is disoriented, weak, and worried his sister Hilda is dead, so Josephine takes him under her wing. Slowly and patiently, Jo tries to find out what happened--to the Hooley house and to Emmett's sister. When the police confirm Hilda's demise and report evidence of arson, Jo and Emmett compile a list of possible suspects among Emmett's friends and relatives, many of whom apparently have a strong motive for murder as Emmett is extremely wealthy. When Jo follows Emmett to a cuckoo clock convention, their adventures take a dangerous turn, and Jo's attempts to find Hilda's killer put both her and Emmett in grave danger.