The Barnabys plan to renew their wedding vows for their 25th anniversary when Tom is distracted by a murder committed with an Indian sword in Badger's Drift.
The nude body of a Brazilian woman is found strangled in the woods, which suggests that a serial killer from nine years before has begun killing again.
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.