The Village of Little Auburn has stood abandoned since World War Two but plans are afoot to restore it to its former glory, However, the grand reopening takes a grisly turn when a man is murdered. DCI Barnaby and his new partner, DS Jamie Winter, are soon on the case, and must unravel a web of lies connecting past and present to bring the killer to justice.

Tensions run high in Lower Pampling as a new type of cricket threatens a century of tradition. When a star player is murdered, Barnaby and Winter's investigation leads them to a surprising person--Barnaby's former sergeant Ben Jones.

At the annual Bellville Hall Small Pet Show, a local estate agent is found stabbed to death amid a herd of escaped rabbits. Could the killer have been an animal-rights activist, or was he or she after one of the prize-winning pets?

A young journalist, seemingly interested in the village's healthcare drone delivery program, is murdered when she slips away from a Jane Austen event dressed in period attire. Barnaby has to look back in time to find answers.

When a prize-winning violinist is killed with his Stradivarius stolen, Barnaby must sort through a myriad of suspects and motives to find the real killer.