It was supposed to be a peaceful week away for Detective Chief Inspector Harry Bailey and his partner Carol Wainwright, holidaying in the pretty market town of Pikesmere, in North Shropshire. Carol, being an English teacher, pushes for them to buy tickets for the local amateur drama group's ambitious production of Hamlet, but when a brutal murderer strikes on opening night, Harry and Carol find themselves assisting the local constabulary in seeking out the killer and, as the bodies mount up, they race against time to solve the clues and unmask their adversary.