Laurel Franks might as well be a professional volunteer, with all the hours she doles out to her teenage daughters' activities, church and civic responsibilities. She puts up with a husband consumed with antiquated opinions and views, while dreaming of singing Trop Rock music and quoting Jimmy Buffett lyrics.

Laurel finds out through the local grapevine that the school superintendent has been murdered and the sheriff's office seems to be unusually mum about the investigation. With her best friend and sidekick, Sherry Sharp, she delves into her own investigation of the murder against substantial odds.

Using prior connections, Laurel and Sherry traverse the Texas Hill Country. They encounter several eccentric characters, each of which might have had a motive for rubbing out the superintendent.

It doesn't take long for Laurel to realize that someone wants to halt her investigation and may go to extreme lengths to silence her. Can she survive her efforts to prove that art should exist for art's sake?