International millionaire trader Hansi Hartzog has bought Dunmorse Hall, jewel in the crown of the Starcliffe valley, and he's improved the shoot, brought in new money and generally shaken things up. But not all the locals approve of the changes. They can't walk in the woods, corpses of vermin adorn the fences and there are grumbles about over-production of game birds. There are boundary disputes, rumours of affairs and unsettling co-incidences.
Here is a community in flux: eastern european farm workers, poachers, badger culls, TB testing, in-comers and old-school locals, financial and emotional tensions. Hansi organises an ambitious charity High Five Shoot for which 200 raffle ticket are sold at £80 each and the winner can invite eight guests for a day's shooting, to which five participating local shoots donate a single drive, with Hansi's famous partridge shoot starting off the day and a lavish lunch in between.
But a shocking murder, a suicide and a vicious assault rip the village apart. Can Inspector Robb, recovering from injury and widowhood, solve the crime before more damage is done?