Blue McCarron, the savvy, gay social psychologist with a yen for crime detection, is captivated by the bizarre case of Beatrice "Muffin" Crandall, a proper grande dame of 72 who has just confessed to murdering a man, chopping him up, and storing his body parts in a frozen locker. But why is Muffin's brother Dan asking Blue for her help in getting Muffin to retract her confession? And why are Muffin's wealthy society friends clearly lying to protect her? Stalking the truth will lead Blue to a desperate, nationwide conspiracy—and an unraveling mystery more dangerous than she bargained for.

It seems impossible that two healthy female politicians could have both died from a cerebral hemorrhage within days of each other. The police hire Blue McCarron and Roxie Bouchie as consultants. The two women, who are involved professionally and personally, work with evangelical preachers, former convicts, and paintball playing plastic surgeons in order to find this unorthodox killer.