Haley is summoned back to the Willowweep pocket universe to deal with a huge crisis: another pocket universe is collapsing, and the survivors are seeking refuge in Willowweep. Haley and herfriends discover that the newcomers are from a mystery-themed universe complete with a blustery colonel, a sweet old spinster, and a butler.

But shortly after their arrival, strange things start happening to Willowweep...the once-Gothic pocket universe is transforming into a whodunit! As the tropes of a detective story start to multiply, a murder rocks Willowweep. And when she searches for the culprit, Haley begins to suspect that one of the newcomers is trying to eradicate Willowweep. One by one, all her friends disappear, and it's up to Haley to get to the bottom of this mind-boggling mystery. Can she grow past her Gothic romance roots to become a new kind of heroine?