The sight is a particularly horrible shock for George Palmer-Jones, ornithologist and amateur detective, as he was an old friend of the victim Eleanor Masefield. George and his wife Molly are staying at Eleanor's family-run hotel, and whilst George believed Eleanor was a beautiful and charming widow, Molly has other ideas.

Is Molly a little jealous? Or was Eleanor more a black widow - a ruthless manipulator of all those caught in her far-reaching web? Can Molly prove it in time to prevent another death?