Dominic and Clarice Corde, who met and fell in love in Brunswick Gardens, journey to a quaint hamlet to replace the local vicar who is away on holiday. The holiday takes a nasty turn when the vicar is discovered not to be away at all, but brutally murdered and stashed in the cellar. So instead of fulfilling the vicar's duties, the Cordes are charged with solving his murder. All the while, the picturesque village is becoming increasingly and dangerously...

Christmas guest: Grandmama arrives on a holiday visit to the home of Charlotte's parents, where a fellow guest--an outcast from her own family--is subsequently murdered. Christmas secret: Dominic Corde is thrilled to fill the robe as substitute vicar in the village of Cottisham, while the Reverend Wynter is away on a three-week Christmas holiday. However, it turns out that the Reverend Wynter isn't on holiday at all-and that something very sinister...