This is the 19th in the Pitkirtly Mystery series of novels set in a small fictitious town on the coast of Fife in Scotland.
When Mollie goes to work one morning, she doesn't expect to receive a visit from the police with news of a death in her house. This is just the start of Mollie's unexpected adventures, during which she gets on a bus without having the fare ready, sleeps in a barn and encounters a secret agent who persuades her to don a disguise and take part in a boat race. Meanwhile, Amaryllis takes on an uncharacteristic rôle, and Christopher finds that the Cultural Centre has been the focus of hostile reconnaissance.