This is the second of the Pamela Prendergast Mysteries.
When a tree falls through the roof of Maisie Macdonald's conservatory, Pamela is at a loss to know where to hold her recently formed art class. A call from a stranger, Emma Blackford, solves the problem. Emma is keen that her daughter Dilly should join the class, and offers the use of her garden office for the class sessions. But it isn't long before Pamela begins to wonder whether she should have been so quick to accept the offer. She suspects an intruder is lurking in the shrubbery outside the office on one of the dark November evenings, and later her friend is attacked, a body is found and the police get involved. Pamela finds that having DCI Mal Mitchell as a neighbour is also a mixed blessing.