The Pennyfoot hides many secrets, and its downstairs staff keeps a tight lip, even when the Edwardian aristocrats are spotted dallying with damsels in the boudoirs or gambling in the card rooms hidden below the floorboards. Should now and then one of the hotel guests fall prey to a dastardly murderer, however, it is up to Cecily Sinclair to restore order before Scotland Yard steps in and shuts down her infamous seaside hotel.

The appearance of Scottish pipers in Badgers End has the downstairs staff of the Pennyfoot Hotel all agog—and the aristocrats upstairs are just as intrigued by all the excitement that the bagpipe contest brings.

Cecily is as thrilled as everyone else, until one of the contestants is found hanging from a hook in the butcher's cellar, as dead as the beef carcasses on either side of him.