It's a major autumn event for South Carolina's culture set - specifically, the Bravissimo Club, a booster organization designed to raise money for the Charleston Opera - and Theodosia Browning is there. Asked to host the lavish tea and the Verdi-themed Masked Ball, Theodosia has a lot on her mind - especially after she finds the dead body of her arch nemesis, Abby Davis. To further complicate things, the victim's brother happens to be Theodosia's old flame. Who would have guessed they would be reunited through cold-blooded murder?
As the opera house is transformed into a sumptuous Venetian carnivale, Theodosia's investigation into Abby's murder takes her from the low-country thicket to a grand formal tea and to the backstage maze of a darkened theater, where a maestro of murder waits for the next cue. All proving that when it comes to high drama, Theodosia can give Verdi a run for his money.