The Scottish border 1592, and a Minister is murdered by two men. His pregnant wife rides off in a panic all the way to Lady Elizabeth Widdrington, who in spite of misgivings of what her husband will do when he finds out, rides back to help arrange the funeral and perhaps find out what's going on. There follows a tangled tale of border reivers and boy choirs and tooth drawers as Sergeant Dodd and Robert Carey are drawn into the mystery.

An absolutely splendid little yarn, full of domestic and social detail and twists and turns of the plot. Elizabeth, Dodd and Carey are great characters, and if I'm not mistaken there's the welcome appearance of Character From Another Series, too, which is nice.