Juliet Capshaw may be heavily pregnant with twins, but that doesn’t slow her down; she’s still coming up with new delicacies for Torte, her bakery in Ashland, Oregon, and keeping up a social life with her husband, Carlos, and their neighbors. One of her dearest friends is Lance Rousseau, artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, whose productions bring in hordes of tourists. Lance’s wedding to longtime partner Arlo is nearly foundering in the face of Lance’s ambitious plans. At the moment, the play on view is Perfect Crime, and behind the scenes, there’s a great deal of tension between the actors and their director, Kean Armitage, which Lance hopes will be mitigated by the fabulous cast party he and Jules are planning. Once Jules meets the actors, she’s surprised by the hostility surrounding Armitage, who harasses the women; feuds with his bitter soon-to-be ex-wife, Vera Armitage, who claims to be a reviewer; and insists on a method approach that’s turned his male lead into a stalker. Given the short notice, Jules and her staff are busy preparing food for the party, but it all comes to a screeching halt when Armitage is shot dead in a dressing room. Jules has already helped her stepfather, who’s the law in Ashland, solve a long string of crimes, so she’s ready to pitch in to help the police. After all, she’s already spent enough time talking to cast members to know there may be a surfeit of possible killers.