Although the citizens of Berkeley are famously tolerant, that progressive attitude disappears at the property line between the homes of Dr. Hasbrouck Diamond and Leila Sandoval. In the Berkeley hills, there are no worse neighbors than Diamond and Sandoval. What began as a tiff about garbage cans and street parking has exploded into full-blown war, drawing in the city, the press, and now - to the irritation of detective Jill Smith - the police department. Struck by a falling eucalyptus branch while sunning on his deck, Dr. Diamond accuses his neighbor of assault with a deadly tree. As a heat wave causes tempers to flare even higher, Jill does her best to referee the back-and-forth. But when their feud ends in death, she realizes that the community might only be safe with the neighbors behind bars.
