The Reverend Cecil Willard was not one of those born to be loved. A scholarly and austere man, former headmaster of the local boys' school, his stern moral principles and die-hard opinions never endeared him either to those close to him or to his neighbors in the village of Castle Wyvering where he lived and worked. Nevertheless, the discovery of his murdered body at the foot of the altar steps in the church shocked the whole community. Situated at the outskirts of the Lavenstock Division, tiny Castle Wyvering and its inhabitants are unfamiliar to Detective Chief Inspector Gil Mayo and his support team. However, Mayo soon learns that there are plenty of people in Castle Wyvering who had cause to resent the old man, including his own long-suffering daughter - but who would want to kill him, and why? Does his death have anything to do with the power struggle for the headmaster's position at the school, or with the shooting of three badgers in a neighbor's garden? And who is the mysterious Sara mentioned in Willard's diary? The answers, and the final solution to the murder, only become apparent after Mayo's far-reaching inquiries, and not before the killer has struck once more.