Garden of Death—One of the most beautiful spots in the county becomes a source of contention.　　Destroying Angel—When a hotel owner dies, the manager misses the reading of the will that names him part-owner.　　The Electric Vendetta—A mutilated body found in a crop circle leads some to suspect aliens have invaded.　　Who Killed Cock Robin?—A murder mars plans for the upcoming wedding of the village squire’s daughter.　　Dark Autumn—A postman is brutally murdered, and it turns out he was delivering more than the mail to village women.　　Tainted Fruit—A wealthy young landlady fears for her life after she callously ignores the plight of an elderly tenant.

　　Deserted for years, an historically significant house is coveted by a number of people: a yuppie couple looking for a country home to restore, a local builder and his estate agent partner looking for development rights, and a conservationist. The owner is anxious to sell, but when a couple of deaths occur in the vicinity, things come to a halt while Inspector Barnaby investigates.

　　Barnaby and DS Ben Jones investigate the death of Simon Bright who is found dead inside an old World War II vintage Humber parked at an abandoned airfield. From all appearances, the death appears to be a suicide, but the pathologist determines that the man suffered a severe blow to the dead and may in fact have been unconscious when he died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Simon Bright's girlfriend, Laura Sharp, is nowhere to be found, but the death of the aging village Lothario and the attempted murder of another of her friends narrows the list of possible murderers somewhat. Barnaby is convinced that one of Laura's ex-lovers is responsible but given her rather active life, the question becomes which one?