In Alpine, Washington - Mary Daheim's cozy hamlet in the Cascade Mountains - mystery fans can meet folks whose colorful quirks and welcoming manner make the town feel like home. Alpine's bastion of bylines, Emma Lord's weekly newspaper, The Alpine Advocate, is the current that drives the rumor mill of small-town life . . . and occasional death. But even the eagerly anticipated Advocate isn't immune to the perils of the outside world.