Liz Eckardt, owner of the Olde Mansion Inn in Pleasant Creek, Indiana plans to make a delicious home-cooked feast for her guests. Residents of the small town eagerly await the pumpkin pie bake-off and the national spotlight it will shine on their town when the event is broadcast on a popular TV show. Mary Ann Berne, Liz's good friend and fellow member of the Material Girls quilting group is expected to win the pie contest, but one of Liz's guests is also a strong contender. With the cameras rolling and everyone in town watching, the judge tastes Mary Ann's pie and collapses to the floor.