When Silver Peak reopens an abandoned rail line as the Mountain Crest Railroad, it kicks off a weeklong festival to celebrate the new tourist attraction and beloved former resident Collin Malloy, who went on to movie stardom in the 1930s before an untimely death. On the train’s inaugural trip, Sadie Speers discovers a stunning antique pavé diamond men’s watch lodged behind her seat cushion. But when the train’s lights go out momentarily, the watch vanishes. What happened? Could it have been the legendary watch that the community made for Malloy just before he left for Hollywood? And who was the costumed man sitting next to her?

Devastated that she misplaced a long-lost Silver Peak treasure, Sadie sets out to find the watch. Along the way, she encounters a man with an uncanny resemblance to the late screen idol, discovers a secret about him that was covered up by the newspapers of the day, reconnects with the town’s mysterious hermit, and helps a wayward young man find his roots.