Vivien Brandt (forty-something editor, librarian, and future interior designer extraordinaire) has spent decades dreaming about a life in England, and thanks to her marriage to second husband Geoffrey, her dreams are finally coming true. She and her cat Sydney (who is considerably less excited about leaving the warmth of California) are the newest inhabitants of a cosy South Yorkshire village. But as Vivien meets the locals - including the vicar, a charismatic politician, and a pair of troubled teenagers - she finds she still has a lot to learn about her new home. Especially after she discovers a body in it. Now she must work with her neighbor Hayley and a somewhat mistrustful police inspector to uncover the village's secrets and find a killer. Preferably, before the killer finds her. Because it seems when the chips (crisps?) are down, the only common language between America and Britain... is murder.