It's New Years Eve in the quiet village of Lesser Swinfold and Sam Jones sculptor and involuntary sleuth has arrived together with her boyfriend, Hugo, to celebrate Sam's best friend, Tom has taken a job there as a primary school teacher in the hope of meeting plenty of available and sex hungry single mothers. Unfortunately, firworks aren't the only thing exploding over the holidays. Hugo loathes the country, Tom has failed to score but is hopelessly in love, with a twenty two year old with the face of a fallen angel. Distracted by the appalling state of her love life, the discovery of a dead body is an unwelcome complication for Sam, especially when Tom becomes the principal suspect.