Abigail Timberlake Washburn understands the antiques game is a gamble - so she doesn't know what to expect when she wins the bidding for the contents of an old locker that has been sealed up for years. It's a delightful surprise when she discovers inside a collection of exquisite old walking sticks - and a not-so-delightful one when she pulls out a decrepit gym bag containing... a human skull!

The last thing the diminutive South Carolina antiques dealer needs is to be suspected of foul play. So she grabs her chatty assistant (and future sister-in-law), C.J., and heads out to search for a killer they can stick it to. But this cane case will be no walk in the park - with its arcane clues hinting at poaching, counterfeiting, smuggling... and homicide, of course. And when a fresh corpse turns up, things are about to get really sticky for Abby and her staff of one.