Gus Lynch is directing the Youth Theatre through a rehearsal. The cast is in place, but the female lead, Gabriella Paston, is missing. Later that evening her body is discovered in the boot of Gus' car. Detective Inspector Stephen Ramsay and Sergeant Gordon Hunter are assigned to head the murder enquiry.
Lord Bellingham, Carsely's biggest landholder, has enraged locals by saying he is going to sell off their allotments to make way for a new housing development. So when he turns up dead, poisoned by antifreeze, nobody mourns his passing ... Agatha is introduced to three old-timers Harry Perry, Bunty Daventry and Josephine Merriweather, whilst visiting the Carsley’s allotments. They are lamenting the neglected...