Jake and Ellie are taking a break from perfecting their chocolate-pizza recipe to cater a housewarming party hosted by movie-icon Ingrid Merryfield. Miss Merryfield is famous for her old-Hollywood glamour. Her new home, Cliff House, has a reputation too - for being haunted. But she isn’t concerned, and some of her guests even try to summon a spirit during the party, using a Ouija board. What arrives instead is a freak autumn storm that downs an ancient tree, traps everyone on the property, and leads them to stumble upon a hidden room - where they find film critic Audrey Dalton, apparently frightened to death.

Though Jake and Ellie don’t intend to get stirred into the mix, there’s no avoiding it - especially when they discover a locket in the victim’s hand, with a picture of Ellie and the word “next” on it. Is someone trying to write her out of the script too?

Jake and Ellie begin sifting through suspects and motives, a search that takes them from a long-lost family graveyard to an antique smokehouse and finally to Cliff House’s overgrown gardens. Is there some ghostly presence involved - or a flesh-and-blood villain? And either way, can they ensure that Ellie avoids meeting her very own, very permanent Hollywood ending?