Lord James Harrington and his wife, Beth, run a country hotel in West Sussex, England. Autumn has arrived, and they are helping with the Harvest festivities when they learn that escaped convict, Locksmith Joe, is in the area. James suspects that his good friend Bert knows more about this than he's letting on.
When new arrival Christie Cameron is found dead in his bedroom, clues suggest foul play, yet the room was locked from the inside. How did the killer get in? When a second death occurs at the scarecrow festival, James puts his sleuthing hat on. Will a surprise discovery jeopardise his friendship with Bert?