DON'T ASK FOR RULES is set in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and a mythical small town nearby, Fairview. The town marshal of Fairview gained notoriety when he shot his wife, and claimed to have shot her in self-defense. Thereafter, the town marshal himself was found murdered, shot in the back of the head, at night while entering his residence. Our Heroine, POPPY HANNAH, is an amateur detective, with psychic abilities, persistence and resilience, as well as a sense of humor. She works as a paralegal in a law firm and uses her spare time and her working hours, as a sleuth to free those wrongly accused. Her employer, Attorney RALPH TAYLOR is a married man with three small children. His wife and children believe Poppy is perfect and the children are always saying, "Poppy knows everything." Ralph doesn't dare fire Poppy, his wife and kids would hate him. He strives to keep Poppy out of trouble. If anything happened to Poppy, his wife and kids would kill him. He recognizes Poppy's extraordinary talent, both as a paralegal and as an amateur detective. If he had his "druthers," he'd rather she stayed in the office and worked on the law. HAZEL WEAVER is Poppy's housekeeper. She takes care of Poppy and Poppy's house, and she is psychic. She gives Poppy guidance, and Poppy is never sure whether this is just practical advice, or whether Hazel's "guides" have given her the information. TOMMY SWIFT, Poppy's old boyfriend, is a detective with the Fort Wayne Police Department. He perseveres in his quiet pursuit of Poppy having already been shot down once when he tried to rush her into a romance. He comes to her rescue from time to time, and is always there to check the closets and under the beds to make certain she's safe.