Professional caterer, cook, and sometime amateur detective, Darina Lisle finds herself in a pickle when she sets out to try her hand at being a hotelier. Detective William Pigram soon realizes that by introducing Darina to the seedy Hotel Morgan, he may have cooked his own goose. The statuesque and self-reliant Ms. Lisle has once again found a passionate interest other than his handsome self. Determined to save this West Country inn, Darina finds herself embroiled in the turbulent relations of the establishment's troubled owners, a bewildered blond widow and her grown stepson, whose icy blue eyes hold a compelling appeal. And while Darina grows increasingly more intrigued with this enigmatic pair, William is busy investigating the murder of a beautiful employee of another, far more elegant local hotel, piecing together the dead woman's scandalous affairs with the help of his able assistant, Pat James, a pert young female detective constable. Darina and William are being pulled apart by their divergent interests until a shocking second murder brings the culinary artiste and the courtly cop into dramatic proximity. As death stalks the "Hotel Morgue," Darina's sleuthing skills bubble to the surface, and she puts aside her hotel duties just long enough to help Pigram apprehend a double killer.