Caroline Steele is a hag without a future, tired of her housewife routine, bored with marriage, beaten down by teaching, and confused by her growing sons. But when she becomes a prime suspect in the murder of her arch nemesis, a prominent astronomy professor, she is shocked out of her mind-numbing routine. Caroline resolves to clear herself by finding the real killer. Her quest takes her back to work at the University of New Mexico Department of Physics and Astronomy. Once again she finds herself surrounded by neurotic staff and unique faculty. As evidence builds against Caroline, she is thrust into close contact with a charismatic detective and begins to feel alive. Caroline juggles several worlds: domestic life with her quirky family, office work, academic intrigue, people's crazy lives, a murder investigation, and the romance novel she critiques for a friend. She discovers the awful truth after a loved one nearly dies.