Jessica finds herself mired in a case of international espionage when she unknowingly acts as the go-between between spies and Russian Trade Ambassador Yuri Lementov, who tries to pass an encrypted note from his homeland to the U.S. government. When Lementov eventually ends up murdered, Jessica winds up in a tight situation especially when her friend and British spy, Michael Hagarty gets framed for the murder. She then has to team up with a Washington, DC police officer to prove his innocence and find the real killer before they escape.

Cabot Cove's community theatre is putting on a play about the local story about a purported witch who was burned at the stake. When a new resident named Mariah Osborn auditions for the role of the accused, Cabot Cove's residents suspect there's more to her than meets the eye and as a result, Jessica is moved to investigate what's going on. As a result, she soon discovers that Mariah has a past connection to several key Cabot Cove residents.