Elvira Clancy is feeling a little unfulfilled; although she adores her new job writing obituaries, she finds herself being paid per obituary overnight…
When her editor informs her that she will be paid per article, an obituarist for a small-town newspaper begins murdering people to avoid going broke; Elvira's plans are upended when she falls for the paper's dogged new crime correspondent.
Elvira targets someone sending her poison pen letters; Emerson's real reason for coming to town is revealed: he's trying to solve a murder from five years ago of German national Maria Riedle in the local woods.
Elvira finds herself blackmailed by a teenager who saw her murder her first victim; Ward goes to AA; Hughie catches a break when he locates the rifle used to kill Maria Riedle.
Desperate to prove to herself that she is not a monster, Elvira pursues a drunk driver released from jail who mowed down a father and his daughter; Hughie hits a dead end with Maria's murder, but Emerson catches a break.
Elvira wrestles with whether or not to kill her best friend as Mallory reveals that she has information that Elvira may be involved in a murder; to distract Emerson from the Maria Riedle case, Hughie sends Emerson on a wild goose chase.
When Ward reveals what really happened the night Maria Riedle was killed, Elvira sets about framing Hughie for the crime; Emerson and Elvira finally hook up as Mallory flees town just as a surprise face returns to Kilraven.