Mary Ryan was a pastry chef at San Francisco's top restaurant, American Fare. Mary is a great pastry chef who possesses the business savvy of a kumquat. Just a few short months ago, she was at the peak of her professional career but that was before she stepped on the dead body of one of her employees and found another shot dead in her own bed. Overnight she had become virtually unemployable. Funny how a couple of dead bodies can kill your career.

At the end of her rope, with no job prospects in sight, Mary receives a phone call from Antonella deLuca, an old teacher of hers, informing her that there is a teaching position available at Ecole d'Epicure. If Mary gets hired for the position, she'll be returning in glory to her alma mater. Willing to take less pay than she's worth closes the deal and Mary gets the job.

Homicide Detective O'Connor shows up as a student in Mary's class. It was O'Connor who had worked on solving last fall's murders. They have an understanding of sorts, well sort of. O'Connor was Mary's ex-husband's partner on the S.F.P.D. Homicide Division and best friend outside the S.F.P.D.

Allison, a fellow chef and teacher at Ecole, goes into full-blown anaphylactic shock while dining. At first Mary believes Allison's death is merely an accident due to Allison's allergy to shellfish but strange things begin happening at the school, starting with the fact that Allison didn't consume any shellfish for dinner. Now more than ever Mary believes O'Connor’s enrollment in her class has more to it than what first met the eye. If O'Connor is working undercover at Ecole, then why? What on earth could be going on at the cooking school?

Mary, at wit's end to solve this dilemma, enlists the help of an old friend, Thom Woods, to help her solve this immediate impasse. Soon the two find themselves cooking with gas! All kinds of secrets, not to mention crimes, taking place at Ecole d'Epicure begin to come to light.