No one sheds any tears when overbearing English teacher Marcia Deaver is found dead in her classroom. Some staff members speculate it was a heart attack, or perhaps a suicide, but Liz Hopewell knows that no self-respecting member of the Valerian Hills English Department would kill herself without leaving behind a perfectly penned suicide note, complete with detailed footnotes and obscure literary references. 

After the police begin investigating the death as a murder, Liz finds Marcia’s mysteriously coded lesson plans. Convinced that they hold the key to identifying the murderer, normally risk-averse Liz finds herself obsessed with solving the crime.

Despite repeated requests to stay out of it from both her husband and the handsome detective assigned to the case, Liz persists in pursuing the murderer down a sordid trail of infidelity, blackmail, and Shakespeare conspiracy theories.

When additional staff members are also poisoned, Liz realizes that her clandestine pursuit has spooked the murderer—and she is likely next on the list. Can Liz expose the murderer before she becomes the next victim?