Here in Sherryl Wood's Hot Money, the third in the Molly DeWitt Romantic Mystery series, Molly DeWitt and detective Michael O'Hara investigate the murder of Tessa, the chairwoman of the "Save the Environment" black-tie affair. Molly and Michael are in attendance at the posh affair at the insistence of Molly's friend, Liza, who was one of the organizers for the event. But when Molly and Michael sneak away from the party to sit quietly on the dock for a while, they discover the body of Tessa Lafferty, a wealthy socialite, floating on the water.

As the two investigate the mystery further, they discover that Tessa was not only not very politically correct (despite her obvious involvement with the Save the Environment party) but more, that she had many sexual partners and was none too discriminating. The plot is set for Michael and Molly to investigate and try to solve the mystery as they also continue the subplot of their own relationship.