The night sky is especially foggy as Rory and Molly Harris, the new vicar and his wife, drive home from a dinner party in the Cotswolds. They screech to a sudden halt when they see a body hanging from a lightning-blasted tree at the edge of town. But it's not suicide; Margaret Darby, an elderly spinster of the parish, has been murdered - and the villagers are bewildered as to who would commit such a crime. Agatha Raisin rises to the occasion, delighted to have some excitement back in her life, but she finds the village poses more questions than answers.
