On the world's first commodities exchange in Amsterdam, 1659 - a mysterious world of trade populated by schemes and rogues, where deception rules the day, Miguel Lienzo has lost everything in a sudden shift in the sugar markets. He enters into a partnership with a seductive Dutchwoman who pitches the newest commodity: coffee.

In her delightful debut, Balzo puts a 21st-century spin on the traditional cozy, replacing tea with coffee as the comfort beverage of choice. Maggy Thorsen, a divorcée whose husband left her for his 24-year-old dental hygienist, and two women friends are eager to open a coffee shop, Uncommon Grounds, in the small Wisconsin town of Brookhills, whose inhabitants include such recognizable types as the local gossip and tennis moms. In a world where Starbuck's...