Set in bathington, a small town in iowa (1952), the temporary typist is the story of carlton "coop" cooper, a widower recently retired from the railroad. after his church loses its secretary, coop volunteers on a temporary basis. when a chinese girl and two young men show up offering to set up a publications ministry, his problems seem to be over. but not all is as it seems. who is this girl? why is she in bathington? what exactly are they printing in the back room? after the former typist is found dead, the town is rocked by a several revelations that threaten to publicly humiliate cooper, a descendant of the original bathingtons who founded the town and whose centennial he is helping to organize. meanwhile, coop's granddaughter, frankie, is writing an essay for the centennial. when her research paper reveals a shocking new detail about the town's ancestors, coop is uncertain what will happen. with many twists and turns, the story comes to its exciting conclusion, not in bathington, but a chicago cemetery.