A celebration at Mablethorpe Castle turns to terror when a kennel fire blazes out of control. As Lady Vivienne Harlowe rushes to the scene, eager to help, a nobleman is found murdered. There's a killer on the loose and no one is safe . . .

Lady Vivienne Harlowe doesn't fear much, and delves into life's experiences head on. But for years she's been plagued by the unsolved murders of her parents and the strange disappearance of other family members. Now, in the face of a new tragedy, she vows to follow every twist and turn until she's solved the dark deeds at Mablethorpe Castle.

Murder, Rats, and danger run rampant on Rotten Row with a rat-catcher called the Pied Piper terrorizing the town!

A woman is found dead in an alley of the bad part of town called Rotten Row. She's thought to have been bludgeoned to death, but as Lady Vivienne Harlowe and Sheriff Zachariah Fitch investigate the crime, it is soon realized that she was poisoned.

Lurking in the shadows of this filthy, disgusting part of town is the murderer, watching their every move. Because of a severe rat infestation on Rotten Row, a rat-catcher has been hired and the townsfolk refer to him as none other than the Pied Piper. With a young lad to assist him, the Pied Piper, a black cat with multi-colored eyes, and two rat-hunting ferrets have managed to terrorize just about everyone, especially the children.

A graveyard ghost leads investigators to a corpse hidden in an abbey's wall.

When Sheriff Zachariah Fitch hears about a corpse found inside the wall of Maltby le Marsh Abbey, he wants nothing to do with the investigation since that is where his estranged sister resides as a nun. But with the local constable asking for his help, and Lady Vivienne accepting the case for them, he quickly finds himself not only working on a murder, but having to face his ghosts of the past involving his sister.

Lady Vivienne Harlowe has helped the sheriff on several cases. So when a ghost in the graveyard seems to be summoning her, she takes it as a sign that she and the sheriff must travel to Maltby le Marsh to assist with a new murder investigation. Zachariah is her good friend from childhood, and as both of them have lost their spouses, a growing attraction between them makes her wonder if they can keep their relationship professional as they've always agreed to do.