Cookie's Fortune plot
"Welcome to Holly Springs... home of murder, mayhem and catfish enchiladas."
Jewel Mae 'Cookie' Orcutt, an eccentric widow, lives in a stately home in Holly Springs. Afraid of all the rules, she shares the house with Willis Richland, a amiable middle-aged Negro. Her two cousins Camille Dixon, a domineering know-it-all with a passion for theater and Cora Duvall, a docile type, live nearby. Camille and Cookie are constantly at odds over Cookie's indifference to her social status. Emma Duvall, the daughter of Cora with whom Cookie has a good relationship, has also moved back to Holly Springs. All the colorful village characters are invited by Camille to participate in the local Easter game. This time it's an adaptation of Oscar Wilde's Salome. When Camille visits Cookie the day before the premiere to claim a controversial fruit bowl, she makes a horrifying discovery: Cookie is dead. The local police, supplemented by two outside murder experts, start an investigation. Slowly the riddle of Cookie's fortune is unraveled.