Summer in Frantham had been long and lazy and DI MacGregor had enjoyed the peace and quiet after a traumatic year. In the Martin Household at Peverill Lodge, change is afoot. Tim is now engaged and preparing to move out, an event Rina views with a mix of pleasure and regret. She will miss Tim tremendously. And there is news of the revival of her television career. Lydia Marchant Investigates looks set to make it back onto the small screen

But nothing stays peaceful for long. Old enemies have returned, the skeletal remains of a woman are found during excavations at the local airfield and then a man is murdered outside a local pub just a few miles away from Frantham.

As the hot, peaceful summer ends, the autumn is set to turn nasty. Stormclouds are gathering, and Rina, Mac and their friends are about to be swept up into the maelstrom . . .