When Joanna Hayworth visits Bradley Stroden, a onetime prot g of legendary costume designer Edith Head, she expects to find closets bulging with drool-worthy gowns to stock her Portland, Oregon, vintage clothing store. Instead, she finds a corpse.

With movie costumes as bait, Joanna investigates why Stroden was murdered. Could it be tied to the tell-all Hollywood memoir he was writing? Or to a midcentury film noir that was mysteriously yanked before it was released? Or to his "adoring" sister?

At the same time, Joanna stumbles upon a priceless pair of emerald earrings hidden on her laundry shelf. Her houseguest has some explaining to do. Joanna's new marriage--and, possibly, her life itself--depend on figuring out who is acting and who is for real.