China Bayles had finally agreed to marry Mike McQuaid - and then he'd been paralyzed in the line of duty. Fully committed, she knows she'll tough it out, no matter how long his recovery might take. The annual chili cook-off sounds like a nice respite from the stress, so China gladly accompanies her wheelchair-bound sweetheart to the event. But tragedy strikes when cook-off judge Jerry Jeff Cody dies of a severe allergic reaction - to a peanut. Everyone knows peanuts don't belong in a bowl of Texas chili ... and China knows something suspicious is afoot. Now, with rumors flying about foul play at McQuaid's hospital - and whispered stories about Jerry Jeff's womanizing ways - things are heating up all over ...