The threat of hydraulic fracturing or fracking, a controversial technique to extract gas from shale, invades the Butternut Valley. Hera Knightsbridge and her fellow brewers fear it will pollute the brewers’ most precious ingredient, water, as well as destroy the beauty of the valley. And then murder visits her brewery. When Jake is called away, Hera must find the killer on her own and confront a murderer as well as ghosts from her past.