Regan Reilly is in Los Angeles with her husband, Jack, head of the NYPD Major Case Squad. When Regan goes shopping at an upscale new mall in West Hollywood, she unexpectedly runs into Zelda, a woman she met seven years before at a television studio in Burbank when they were waiting to appear on the game show Puzzling Words. They haven't seen each other since.

Zelda and Regan didn't win much money then, but recently an elderly neighbor Zelda barely knew left Zelda eight million dollars. At a recent fundraiser, she bid on a week's stay in an old Hollywood Hills estate and was the lucky winner. She's currently in residence there and invites Regan to a party at the mansion.

Regan goes to Zelda's by herself, unaware that she is being followed. Regan is more than surprised at the run-down condition of the house and grounds, and the colorful cast of characters, including her old neighbors, friends from her yoga class, a filmmaker, Zelda's financial adviser, her bookkeeper, and her personal assistant. It's all good fun. As the guests are leaving, Zelda asks Regan to stay for a cup of tea. They've just sat down to chat when Zelda falls ill. Has Zelda been poisoned? Regan is determined to find out, not knowing that she's a target herself