Vicar Max Tudor, revelling in his new-found personal happiness with Awena Owen, feels that life at the moment holds no greater challenge than writing his Easter sermon. With Awena away, he looks forward to a dinner that welcomes newcomers to the village, including West End dramatist Thaddeus Bottle and his mousey wife Melinda. But when one of the dinner guests is found dead in the wee small hours, Max knows a poisonous atmosphere has once again enveloped his perfect village of Nether Monkslip. Connections to long-ago crimes, some sparked by the paintings of a famous local artist, help Max unravel the clues - but will he be too late to restore lasting peace to Nether Monkslip?