Having Julia Fairchild for an aunt is not easy.

Ever since Heather Stanton ran into her aunt in this speck on the map called Willows Bend, dead bodies have been turning up in the oddest places.

Julia believes the murders are happening because she’s plagued with an evil curse, cast upon her by an old crone for a perceived injustice in her past. So she seeks out Madam Z, a dubious occultist, to assist in getting rid of it.

Heather is doubtful the occultist can do anything but make her aunt look ridiculous, or lead her into trouble, so she tries to convince Julia there’s no such thing as a curse before she’s arrested for a murder she didn’t commit, or becomes the killer’s next victim.