The elderly Emily Simpson is murdered in her home, forcing DCI Tom Barnaby and DS Gavin Troy to interview many of the residents of Badger's Drift.

After a noted author speaks before a group of local Midsomer writers, the naked body of the event's host is found bludgeoned to death in his bedroom.

Barnaby donates time to the local amateur when Joyce is cast in a revival of "Amadeus", but complications arise when the leading man is murdered onstage.

When the residents of Morton Fendle learn that the local mill is to be shut, many also realize that they will lose their investments in the place. Alan Hollingsworth had encouraged the locals to invest but he is now bankrupt and refuses to explain what has happened to the money.

When the founder of a nearby commune is murdered, DCI Barnaby is faced with an eccentric cast of suspects including an heiress, a psychic and a boy who has lost his tongue.

Barnaby and his wife plan to renew their wedding vows for their 25th anniversary, but he is distracted by the investigation of a brutal murder committed with an Indian sword.