Fox hunting, taxidermy and Oscar Wilde are part of the backdrop as Barnaby and Troy investigate a series of murders, beginning with that of a tramp in the woods.
When a local thief and womanizer is killed with a pitchfork, the residents of Midsomer Mallow fear for their chances in the Perfect Village Competition.
Barnaby and Troy, with an actor tagging along for research, investigate a slashed painting at a museum, which later turns out to be the site of a murder.