Something is rotten in the California Central Coast hamlet of Los Lobos and it's more than just effluent from the aging septic tanks. Former nun and current obituary editor Bella Kowalski's job is to dig the dirt. But even savvy Bella finds more than she bargained for when she decides to investigate the murder of Connie Mercado. Soon Bella and her husband Mike, a former cop, find themselves up to their eyeballs in a deadly mix of murder most foul, long-buried family secrets and Central Coast Region Utility District (CRUD) politics.