Isabel Dalhousie hat mal wieder alle Hände voll zu tun. Anonyme Briefe, voller bösartiger Andeutungen gegen den Anwärter auf den Schuldirektors Posten, kursieren in Edinburgh. Ihre Nichte hat einen neuen Freund, der so perfekt ist, dass es ihn verdächtig macht und eine hübsche Cellistin hat es auf ihren zukünftigen Ehemann abgesehen.
As well as its advantages, there are drawbacks to the enlightened village that is twenty-first-century Edinburgh, where every Saturday night ears burn at dinner parties across the city, and anyone requiring the investigative abilities of a philosophical soul knows where to find her. Jillian McKinlay -- wife of a trustee of an illustrious school -- is the latest petitioner; she asks Isabel to look into a poison-pen letter that makes insinuations about applicants for the position of principal. Isabel's niece Cat has another new boyfriend who seems too good to be true.
