Permelia O'Brien happily opens the door to the new Portland yarn store where she's scheduled to teach a beginner's knitting class. The last thing she expects to find is a dead body. Yet, here is a man, flat on this back with a knitting needle sticking from his ear. Her students are due to arrive any minute and the store owner is away on a buying trip in Seattle. Who is this man and why is he lying there dead on Permelia's class day? No one knows, but Permelia is determined to find out.