In a town that loves Christmas, a Scrooge-like man rampaging against anything holiday-related is murdered. Agatha Raisin must discover the culprit--but it's difficult, when the victim had enemies galore.

When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty facade is a town at war. Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils, Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the town's council...

Investigating the murder of a local baker during an amateur theatrical production, curmudgeon Agatha Raisin and her team of private detectives uncover a web of feuds and temperamental behaviors that place the team in mortal danger.

"Gloria French was a jolly widow with dyed blonde hair, a raucous laugh and rosy cheeks. When she first moved from London to the charming Cotswolds Hills, she was heartily welcomed. She seemed a do-gooder par excellence, raising funds for the church and caring for the elderly. But she had a nasty habit of borrowing things and not giving them back, just small things, a teapot here, a set of silverware there. So it's quite the shock when she is found...