Henrietta Copeland accompanied by Compass, her chocolate brown Labrador, begin this fictitious crime tetralogy.
On losing her sight in an industrial accident just before she turns 50, she throws away her palette of paints and brushes and picks up a pen to write of the sounds and scents from the river at Goolwa.
Proud of being dabbed with the title Sleuth Down-Under, Henrietta becomes the owner of a paddle wheeler she names Laurel Wreath. She and her co-poets, the Cruising Poets, provide the venue for other artists on daily cruises along the mighty River Murray at Goolwa, South Australia.
Unforeseen chaos on one of the cruises has Henrietta fearing the parting of ways with her career onboard Laurel Wreath. But along comes an invitation for Laurel Wreath and Cruising Poets to paddle to Milang and co-host a nostalgia party where the undercurrent causes turbulence and has Henrietta putting all her sleuthing skills to the test.