Mercedes Moran is one of the stars of the self-publishing world, a romance author who’s made millions by selling 99 cent romance novels through all of the ebook platforms. Her fan base is enormous - but Mercedes is a horrible person, and she’s made plenty of enemies, too. The Association of Self-Publishing is holding its annual conference on UCLA’s campus, and Mercedes is the keynote speaker. When Jamie Brodie and Kristen Beach attend the keynote at the encouragement of their supervisors, they get an earful from other conference-goers about Mercedes. But it’s nothing to do with them. Until Mercedes turns up dead in the back of the exhibit hall. Kevin Brodie and Jon Eckhoff are on the case, and they enlist Jamie’s and Kristen’s help with navigating the world of self-published authors. But the case takes a turn for the weird when Kevin and Jon are joined by a lieutenant from Internal Affairs, who claims to be brushing up on his investigative skills - and who only speaks in clichés. Who killed Mercedes? Why is a desk jockey from Internal Affairs dogging Kevin and Jon’s every step? And why do so many covers of male-male romance novels feature headless torsos??