With summer looming, Dee Stern has one goal -- scrubbing her motel's moniker as the "Murder Motel." She is excited to introduce a family-friendly panning activity complete with fool's gold in time for the peak tourist months. Except she couldn't have anticipated the discovery of real gold or the ensuing frenzy. The instant popularity proves great for business, but it also attracts a group of techies with dreams of striking it rich -- again. Dee finds herself particularly annoyed by the insufferably smug Sylvan Burr, but things take a sinister turn when Sylvan meets a grim fate, leaving Dee at the center of a deadly mystery that could end her days as a motelier.