 Another kitchen in Midsomer is the setting for a murder, this time the shotgun killing of a smarmy man who has been blackmailing more than one member of the local community. Barnaby and Jones must uncover the secrets each suspect has been hoping to keep hidden, and their investigation includes a respected man who once ran a school for wayward girls, a pub owner who may have shorted the tax man on inheritance taxes, and a couple whose weekend trips to the seashore might be more than for a relaxing whiff of sea air.