Matilda Smithwick (Maddie to her friends) is the proud owner of Little Guys Pet Care, a small but steadily growing dog walking company on Chicago’s North Side. Maddie loves her job and her life. Sure—she doesn’t have a girlfriend. But her best friend Dottie and her grandmother, Granny Doyle, are far more bothered about her lack of a girlfriend than Maddie is. As long as she has her rescued mutt Bart to keep her company, Maddie is perfectly happy.

That is until she returns from a walk to find one of her clients lying in a pool of his own blood. From there she finds herself thrown into a murder investigation filled with cantankerous purebred dog owners, her client’s bitter ex-wife, harassing phone calls and a police detective with no patience for Matilda’s helpful input. Throw in a lengthy hospital stay for Granny Doyle, a growing attraction for a possible murderer, and a depressed and ill-trained foster dog who refuses to eat, and Maddie’s easy, happy life seems to have fallen completely apart.

Fortunately she has Granny Doyle and Dottie to help her figure out how to save her business and her home…and to help keep her out of jail.