When newly promoted Detective Sergeant Mattie Stone is assigned to her hometown of Wildemarsh for duty, her boss strictly warns that her job will not require the help of her three crime-writing aunts, Beth, Cat, and Jane. But when a murder takes place at the local crime-writers' festival, Mattie struggles to keep the well-meaning amateur sleuths out of the investigation.

With another killing and Beth a suspect, Mattie races to solve the case and clear her aunt's name. Was it Oscar's publisher, who was skimming off the top? His literary agent, who was at risk of losing Oscar's contract to a rival? Or a fellow author, whom Oscar had accused of plagiarizing?

'80s new wave band Volcanic Youth is in town to record a new album, but Kat feels troubled about the reunion after her contentious breakup with the band years ago. Mattie is assigned the unglamorous job of searching for a lost dog, but the case is put on hold when one of Volcanic Youth's members turns up murdered.

The stage adaptation of Jane's book endures numerous snafus before opening night: electrical problems, feuding cast members, and a notorious arts critic writing a potentially bad review. Meanwhile, Mattie searches for new clues in the case of her missing mother, but an onstage murder brings her to the theatre.

Contending with another murder and a missing lead actress, the theatre company is forced to switch up the cast, but their production is a mess. Despite Mattie's objections, Beth and Cat continue to pursue leads on their own.