After a herd of sheep discover their shepherd, George, pinned to their pasture with a spade, they embark on a life-changing investigation to nail his murderer. Nightly ruminations in the hayshed, secret group expeditions down to the human village, and some wild metaphysical speculating lead the woolly detectives into the unexpectedly shadey life of their (very crooked) dead shepherd. Large, voluminous, characterful sheep fill the pages of this ingenious murder mystery. While some of the detectives insist on chewing the evidence, Miss Maple, their smart and upright leader keeps her cohorts in line as the herd uncovers the inexplicable ways of their human counterparts, and even of themselves.