With this tenth book in a series that fans of British mysteries have come to relish more than fish 'n' chips and a pint at the pub, M. C. Beaton returns with another baffling case for Hamish Macbeth, the stubborn, red-haired, one-man police department of the Scottish village of Lochdubh. It has all the local color, wry humor, and splendid characterizations readers adore.

All Sergeant Hamish Macbeth wants to do is fish and drink coffee with his fiancée. But when a mysterious stranger moves into the neighboring village—a rich, unmarried heartbreaker—a rivalry erupts among the local women, and the men of the village start a slow burn. It is amusing until death threats, assault, and murder shatter the tranquil countryside. Now Hamish must investigate the darker side of love and desire.