"Lawyer Andy Carpenter usually tries to avoid taking on new cases at all costs. But this time, he's happy--eager, even--to take the case that's just come his way. Andy's long-time friend Martha 'Pups' Boyer takes in stray puppies that the local dog rescue center can't handle ... With Christmas just around the corner, one of Pups's neighbors has just reported Pups to the city for having more than the legal number of pets in her home under the local zoning laws ... Who could punish someone for rescuing puppies, after all, especially at Christmastime? But things get a lot more complicated when Randy Hennessey, the neighbor who registered the complaint against Pups, turns up dead"--