A geeky librarian is hired by the prestigious Metropolitan Library, keeper of such top-secret treasures as Excalibur and Pandora's Box. When the Serpent Brotherhood, seeking world domination, steals one of three parts of the magical Spear of Destiny from the library, only this librarian, aided by a gorgeous bodyguard, has the knowhow to thwart their plan. But does he know how to be a hero?

While Flynn is bidding on a Ming vase, his girlfriend is ready to call their relationship off because he stood her up again. By the time he gets to their meeting place she has left, and once again he is alone and depressed. His employers tell him to take a vacation, and when he dreams about a woman asking him to find her he decides to go to New Orleans. In New Orleans he meets the girl in his dream, is chased by some Russian goons, and meets a professor...

Set against the backdrop of a beautiful London garden, the story is a contemporary fairy tale. Facing eviction in a month if she can't resurrect the dying garden in her backyard, reclusive librarian Bella Brown meets her grumpy next-door neighbor, who happens to be a talented horticulturalist. As the two form an unlikely friendship, Bella begins to wonder if she can revive both the garden, and her dreams of becoming a children's book author.

Twenty-eight-year-old Aurora (Roe) Teagarden is a professional librarian and belongs to the Real Murders club, a group of 12 enthusiasts who gather monthly to study famous baffling or unsolved crimes ...