Pleasant Creek, Indiana, loves its history. Each summer the town sponsors Heritage days, a festival commemorating the signing of Pleasant Creek's original town charter. Liz Eckardt couldn't be happier to participate in the star-spangled celebration. Her bed-and-breakfast, the Olde Mansion Inn, is booked solid.
But someone else isn't happy. Antique items related to the historic event are being stolen from Pleasant Creek's people and businesses, including Liz herself. Not only that, the culprit is demanding that a reenactment of the original signing be performed during the celebration, or else people Liz cares about may come to harm. Determined to keep her friends safe, Liz takes on the daunting task of researching the original signing and directing the reenactment. Does the culprit merely want to torch the celebration or is there more to his sinister plan?
Material Girl Sadie Schwarzentruber has troubles of her own. Someone from her past resurfaces, and it looks like bygones may not be bygones for the descendant of one of Pleasant Creek's founding fathers. Adding fuel to the fireworks, the beloved town historian, who's collecting up artifacts as fast as others are being stolen, may have his own agenda. And what about the new director of the Pleasant Creek Playhouse? Hot publicity might be just what she needs to get her new venture off the ground with a bang.
Liz and the rest of the Material Girls, aided by Mayor Jackson Cross, will have to band together if they're going to pull off this event without anyone getting hurt. Will this year's celebration go down in history? Or go up in flames?
Wedding bells will soon ring at the Olde Mansion Inn. Liz Eckardt is thrilled to be hosting an autumn wedding at her bed-and-breakfast, and the celebration is even more special because the bride is the goddaughter of her good friend Mary Ann Berne. While planning the joyous event, Liz revels in her new life as innkeeper in the picturesque town of Pleasant Creek, Indiana.
On the morning of the ceremony, Liz and her friends in The Material Girls quilting group put the finishing touches on the inn. The day promises to be sunny and perfect, and Jaynes Lake will provide a stunning backdrop when Renee Paulson and Josh Conrad exchange vows. The minister and the guests arrive, and the bride is ready to walk down the aisle.
But there's one thing missing.
The groom.
Josh's disappearance is shocking. Renee believes something ominous happened to her fiancé, and she asks Liz and the other Material Girls to find him before it's too late. As Liz searches for answers, she discovers that before he disappeared Josh was stressed to the limit. He'd experienced trouble with a loan and a disgruntled customer at the bank where he works. To make matters worse, Josh was heard swapping heated words with someone over the phone, and he'd argued with his father on the morning of the wedding. Did someone harm Josh? Or did he take off and leave Renee at the altar because he couldn't handle the pressure?
Liz and her friends go to great lengths to locate Josh, but will time run out on Renee and Josh's happily ever after?
