When the only copy of Iris Stanford's new manuscript fails to arrive at her publisher's, her daughter Kat tracks the package pack to the tiny local post office, leaving Iris terrified that Muriel Jarvis, the local postmistress and notorious busybody, will expose her secret identity as international bestselling romance author Krystalle Storm.

But Muriel has problems of her own. The sudden death of her husband has not only left her heavily in debt but facing the possibility that Lord Rupert Honeychurch will evict her from the cottage her family has lived in for generations. Desperate for money, Muriel recklessly embarks on a disastrous course of action - with fatal consequences.

As tales of bizarre thefts, blackmail and infidelity abound, Kat's loyalties are challenged on every front - and then the ancient remains of a civil war victim turn up, reigniting old rivalries...