Ida Mae Washington is the newest resident in the 1950's Shady Side, Maryland, community. Since moving in, she has only left her house a handful of times and has done her best to avoid all the neighbors who have stopped by to greet her. Despite her efforts, she invited to attend the neighborhood Tea Party, the highlight of the town's social calendar. Ida Mae declines the invitation but then catches a glimpse of her neighbor, who is also someone from her past and everything changes. Ida Mae's delight at the reunion is soon replaced with panic when she realizes she has disclosed a decade's worth of secrets to the biggest gossip in the neighborhood. With only one day left before the Tea Party Ida Mae must attend. She must know whether loyalty or betrayal will prevail. Utilizing a dual-timeline plot, Spilling Tea takes a modern day idiom to the 1950's.