At first the work is routine, bordering on boring. Brenna walks around the village green, guarding the waiting bonfire and Guy against possible firecracker augmentation. After all, the moronic element never misses a chance to disgust or shock.

As evening smothers the land, the village square is bathed in torchlight. Spectators huddle against the November chill. Shadows grip the edge of the square, but faces are turned inward for this ancient festivity, all eyes focused on the effigy of Guy Fawkes, the symbol of the terrorist conspiracy-gone-wrong. The flaming torch extends to light the straw and the villagers recoil in horror. Twisting at the end of the rope is no straw-filled dummy. It's the corpse of an American tourist.

This death closes an uneasy weekend. Friday saw Mischief Night an evening of pranks, much like Trick-or-Treat but without the treat. Saturday followed with the Graveyard Dole, the annual occasion for Talbot, the village odd-jobs man, to vociferously protest the current heir's eligibility to the financial gift. Unfortunately, Talbot's rightful claim as lawful beneficiary cannot be proved. And now, this Sunday evening, death disrupts the normality of a common festival. Brenna gets her wish and is plunged into a murder investigation.

Heading the investigating team is Detective-Chief Inspector Geoffrey Graham, a former minister, and a brilliant, intimidating man whom Brenna works hard to impress. Murder suspects, unfortunately, are numerous. There’s the American's brother-in-law, who still is angry over his sister's death; the inebriated, penniless uncle of the lord-of-the-manor. Uncle Gilbert clings to his nephew’s fortune tighter than a cork in a wine bottle could he have mistaken the American for his wealthy nephew? There’s the nephew's fiancée, who may have tried to eliminate the dole’s financial drain by unfortunately killing the wrong man. Several days into the investigation her frost-covered body is discovered, a fragment of rope of the type used for the Guy Fawkes ceremony beneath her. Who’s next?

As if there wasn’t enough stress, bubbling beneath the calm surface of village life is the ancient suspicion of Talbot's unconfirmed adoption. If proved, it would supplant the current dole recipient with Talbot, to his boisterous glee and financial betterment. Could the older man have tired of waiting for proof, and mistaken the American for the current beneficiary? As Brenna digs into the convoluted relationships of the villagers, she becomes the target of frightening pranks. An effigy swings from the ceiling of her bedroom; a dead bird appears in her bathroom sink; photos of her with a noose drawn around her neck materialize on her bed. Are these the work of one of her harassing male colleagues, or a deadly warning to leave the case? Not only must Brenna solve this personal mystery while working on the two murders, but she must also sort out her conflicting emotions of trepidation and love for Chief Inspector Graham.