Grandma Mazur is a widow...again. This time her marriage lasted a whole 45 minutes. The unlucky groom was one Jimmy Rosolli, local gangster, lothario (senior division) and heart attack waiting to happen... Well, the waiting's over. It's a sad day, but if she can't have Jimmy at least Grandma can have all the attention she wants as the dutiful widow. But some kinds of attention are not welcomed, particularly when Jimmy's former "business partners"...

It's four days before Christmas and things are not looking merry for fugitive apprehension agent Stephanie Plum. She hasn't got a tree. She hasn't bought any presents. There's not a twinkle light to be seen anywhere in her apartment. And there's a strange man named Diesel in her kitchen. Sure, this has happened before. Strangers, weirdos, felons, creeps, and lunatics are always finding their way to her front door. But this guy is different. He's mysterious,...

Stephanie finds herself in over her head with a caper involving thrice stolen money, a racehorse, a car chase and a bad case of hives -- not to mention her grandmother playing the slots in Atlantic City using the stolen money!

New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum becomes the next target of a crazed killer while trying to locate Samuel Singh, an illegal immigrant who has skipped out on a visa bond guaranteed by Plum's boss and cousin Vinnie.