The morning after their arrival Lynne discovers the body of one of Peggy's friends from the nearby senior trailer park dead. Her death is ruled a homicide. Investigation into her life shows that she was selling pharmaceuticals, imported from Mexico, to senior citizens, and also that she was a kleptomaniac who may have stolen something incriminating.

     Add to this the fact that the Parker's resort is being plagued with problems: graffiti sprayed on buildings, guest tires slashed, unexplained power failures which cause food spoilage and missed airline connections. Food poisoning. Lynne tries to determine whether there is any connection.

    Her daughter, Jenna, becomes interested in the resort's bird caretaker who introduces her to deep sea diving, but he arouses her suspicions about his bird activities. One of the guests at the resort is there to try to locate a buried treasure about which his dying father told him.

     This is a very simple story; a bit of romance, a bit of mystery, a bit of the everyday life in the resort. It is more of a travelogue for Florida than a mystery, which seems to be incidental. There is abundant detail about the flora and fauna of Florida; the history of the Keys; the legends of pirates and buccaneers, descriptions of exotic birds; the problems of the high cost of prescription drugs and the attempts to circumvent this.

    There is an interesting discussion about Ernest Hemingway and the legends, which have grown about him, of his life in the Keys, some of which are false.

     If the reader is interested in visiting Florida this will be an interesting book to learn of the favorable and unfavorable aspects of the state. As for the story, I found it dull and lifeless. There seem to be too many plots, leaving the mystery behind.