Qwill and the cats-Koko and Yum Yum-are at the Nutcracker Inn in Black Creek when a drowned guest puts a damper on their stay. And if they don't solve the murder soon, they're going to be up the creek without a paddle...
Pickax's favorite columnist, James Qwilleran, is enjoying a brief vacation at the Nutcracker Inn, in the nearby town of Black Creek - although his two Siamese beg to differ, preferring the spaciousness of their own home. Koko and Yum Yum console themselves with the many squirrels on the grounds, while Qwill unearths material for his book-in-progress. But the tranquillity of the place is broken when the body of one of the inn's guests floats down the creek. Several gold nuggets found in his possession suggest a possible clue to his death. Was he illegally prospecting for gold int he Black Forest Conservancy, or perhaps in the creek bottom? Did someone else want the gold more than he did?