After six gruelling months spent in London, Agatha Raisin returns to her beloved Cotswold village of Carsely - and to her attractive neighbour, James Lacey. True, James is less than thrilled to see her, but Agatha is soon consoled by a sensational murder. The victim, found in a lonely field, is hiker Jessica Tartinck, who spent her life enraging wealthy landowners by insisting on her walking club's right to hike over their properties. And now she has been found in a cornfield, battered over the head. Agatha lures the reluctant James into helping with her informal investigation, and there are so many leads to follow, for Jessica's fellow walkers seem able, even willing, to commit murder. And then there are the enraged landowners... Hope springs eternal in Agatha's breast, and she feels confident that the trail of a slippery killer may also be the road to love... or will it lead to even more deaths?