When a former student of Jessica's writes a steamy book based on the residents of Cabot Cove, several of Jessica's friends are less than thrilled about the publicity they start to receive. When someone eventually winds up dead as a result of the book, it's up to Jessica to remind her neighbors that there's a difference between fact and fiction when trying to figure out who the killer is and why they wanted the victim dead.

While visiting Boston, Jessica runs into her former neighbor John Winslow who brusquely insists that he's never seen her before in her life. Quickly dialing up Winslow's wife Maude, Jessica is informed that John died two weeks before! To solve this mystery, Jessica capitalizes upon her friendship with gruff-but-lovable Boston P.I. Harry McGraw.