Despite her penchant for investigating crimes, florist Persimmon ''Simmy'' Brown had hoped that her autumn would be less frantic than usual, giving her the chance to enjoy her pregnancy and looking for a new house in the Patterdale area of the Lake District. But it is not to be .Simmy''s plans are cruelly dashed when one of the lodgers at her parents'' B&B dies in her arms. It is clear the victim had some connection to a controversial new building project near where Simmy hopes to move, and she soon becomes embroiled in a complex case, headed up by her friend DI Moxon, as the nights grow darker and a killer roams free.