Tess Camillo never expected to be a sleuth. Then again, this wry lesbian never imagined someone would try to kill her ... especially not with a snake. The police are convinced the incident at Tess' home was an accident. But when another woman is found murdered a few weeks later - with a snake as the culprit - Tess and her loopy hetero housemate try to unravel the mystery. Tess befriends the murdered woman's girlfriend, only to uncover a strange set of circumstances that just don't add up. Toss in a knife-wielding venom vender, a card-reading psychic, and a depressed herpetologist - not to mention an unexpected life crisis - and suddenly Tess is in one big mess.