In the sequel to Murder a la Russe, an unexpected medical condition temporarily interrupts Natalya Denisova's literary career. Her son Leo, using notes left on her computer, completes her book-in-progress, in which a Charlotte Russe, a dessert named Russe by its inventor for Czar Alexander, contains poison. Natalya was previously accused by the local Russian community of causing harm and even death to real persons resembling her fictional victims by using the Evil Eye of Belarus. She is now intent on wreaking havoc rather than death on her current enemy. By the time the book is completed there is proof that Natalya has succeeded. Leo then reads an email from his mother's literary agent that confirms the murder of a pastry chef who resembles a character he created and he suspects that he, too, possesses the Evil Eye.
