Professional caterer, cook, and sometime amateur detective, Darina Lisle finds herself in a pickle when she sets out to try her hand at being a hotelier. Detective William Pigram soon realizes that by introducing Darina to the seedy Hotel Morgan, he may have cooked his own goose. The statuesque and self-reliant Ms. Lisle has once again found a passionate interest other than his handsome self. Determined to save this West Country inn, Darina finds herself embroiled in the turbulent relations of the establishment's troubled owners, a bewildered blond widow and her grown stepson, whose icy blue eyes hold a compelling appeal. And while Darina grows increasingly more intrigued with this enigmatic pair, William is busy investigating the murder of a beautiful employee of another, far more elegant local hotel, piecing together the dead woman's scandalous affairs with the help of his able assistant, Pat James, a pert young female detective constable. Darina and William are being pulled apart by their divergent interests until a shocking second murder brings the culinary artiste and the courtly cop into dramatic proximity. As death stalks the and "Hotel Morgue, and " Darina's sleuthing skills bubble to the surface, and she puts aside her hotel duties just long enough to help Pigram apprehend a double killer.