Velma Dinkley, a teenage outcast, is accused of murdering a popular classmate; she has only 24 hours to find the real perpetrator and bring them to justice; the only problem is that she has vowed to never ever solve mysteries again.

Velma is desperate to access her missing mother's cold-case file and reluctantly asks her former best friend, Daphne, for help, but soon realises that Daphne has some dark secrets of her own; Velma is tasked with proving Fred's innocence.

When Principal Rogers enrols all the female students in a self-defence class, Velma and Daphne must work out their complicated relationship on the mat; Norville vows to get answers from Fred, by any means necessary.

The popular girls of Crystal Cove High are in danger. After a third girl is murdered, Sheriff Cogburn discovers a pattern: that each victim is hot. Velma offers to make a list, ranking which girls are most likely to be murdered.

A sudden city-wide curfew on Crystal Cove forces Velma to stay the night with Fred and the band geeks; Daphne makes a startling discovery.

Velma makes a promise to herself to sort out her daddy issues; Norville stands up against his father's lifestyle; Fred battles against his family's anti-feminist attitude; Daphne unravels a shocking discovery about her parents and her past.