Savannah, owner of the Moonlight Magnolia Detective Agency in San Carmelito, Calif., agrees to protect Eleanor Maxwell, aka the Gourmet Network's Lady Eleanor, after the self-titled 'Queen of Chocolate' receives threatening letters. To Savannah's dismay, her client collapses after biting into a chocolate during a TV show taping and dies in her arms. Despite her seeming popularity, Lady Eleanor was notoriously bad-tempered-and worse, her recipes were a disaster. Aided and abetted by hungry, hardworking cop Dirk Coulter, Savannah encounters a number of coarse characters, notably the victim's vicious daughter and resentful ex-husband, in her search for the killer. Only one member of the Maxwell clan-Lady Eleanor's seven-year-old granddaughter, Gilly-elicits our sympathy. The unexpected arrival of Savannah's sister Cordele, who's determined to rehash the issues of their relationship and their harsh childhood, tests everyone's patience.