To Bath in its Georgian heyday come colourful visitors, not the least curious is Colonel Sir James Delabole - wealthy, gouty and seeking to make amends for a disreputable past. His daughter, Caroline, has been brought up by her stern grandfather, who seems less inclined to forgive the past than Caroline herself. When flamboyant Sir James is found poisoned, Robert Fairfax, tutor and amateur sleuth, is engaged by the local magistrate to unmask the culprit, but he soon discovers there is no shortage of suspects.