Spring in Mulbury, and the Gala is in full swing. Rosemary Exeter's pickles and marmalades are selling briskly at her stall, alongside Mrs Lionel's green cleaning products and Jasper Lu's secondhand books – until there are screams from across the road. By the time Rosemary gets there, it's to discover Mrs Caroline King, matriarch of a cattle empire, tipped over in her wheelchair gasping for breath on the gravel of Goldmarket Square.

Just what caused Mrs King such disastrous distress is anyone's guess, for Mrs King isn't giving out any clues. Coupled with Honey Blossom's imminent motherhood, Rakisha's ethereal sister's weirdness, and Jasper's hurt at not being believed, Rosemary's life is full to the jam jar rim with conflict, curses and contention – not to mention a cat whose preferred existence would be to not have as many people in the house.