Meet Jenny T. Partridge (and Please, don't even start with the pear tree jokes), founder of Ogden, Utah's premier school for budding prima -- and not-so-prima -- ballerinas. For Jenny, dealing with difficult stage mothers is business as usual...until murder cuts in. — The Jenny T. Partridge Dance Academy barely keeps its fearless leader in bologna sandwiches and Haagen-Dazs, but it's passion that motivates Jenny until tragedy trips her up. Sandra Epstein, obnoxious mother of Jenny's most talented student, has met her maker -- courtesy of poisoned cookie dough purchased through the Academy's fund-raiser.

Even scarier than pushy moms and tights-wetting tots is being on the wrong end of a murder investigation, as Jenny learns when two uber-hot investigators -- not to mention a pair of besotted missionaries and Aunt Vi, Gossip Queen of Utah -- start keeping a very close eye on her.

Now, as the Academy's much-anticipated production of The Nutcracker draws near, Jenny's dancing as fast as she can to clear her name...