Vivian Joyce scores a booth at Addamsville Antiques, hoping a presence in the two-story, converted factory will boost her vintage décor business. As one of the youngest vendors, in her late thirties, Viv aims to get along well with everyone. When long-timer Kaye Burrell accuses Viv of sneaking a valuable vase from Kaye's booth into her own display, the center's owner, Jeff, points out that it might just have been a mix-up. One morning soon afterward, Kaye's bludgeoned body is found in the building's old freight elevator. The police question Viv, Jeff, and other vendors who recently clashed with Kaye. They also consider that she might have surprised a would-be thief who had "inside" help.

Meanwhile, designers from the Addamsville Playhouse visit the antiques center looking for 1940s décor and costumes. Viv offers to lend her wares, even before she finds out that the comedy, Murder Most Noir, will star her unrequited college crush, Ed Kiernan. He's recently back from California, where he shot just one season of a TV cop series, and at first doesn't even recognize Viv as a tech who worked on their college plays, eighteen years ago. They reconnect, though, while discussing the murder at the antiques center. Viv wants to clear her name and those of her fellow vendors; Ed, typecast by now as a detective, jumps at the chance to investigate a real homicide. But will these two eager amateurs end up over their heads in danger?