The wedding of Simmy and Christopher is underway in a pub in Threlkeld, in the late summer. After the happy couple and most of the guests have departed, a young man is found mysteriously injured close by. He is Bruno, a friend of Ben Harkness, and also of Jonty, Christopher's nephew, and the three were due to set up home together in the village for the rest of the summer. Bruno dies the next day, apparently of his injuries, but Ben and Bonnie begin to speculate as to what exactly happened.
Due to pressure on resources, the police have not ordered a full post mortem and Ben's theory is that there was a second attack, on the day after the wedding. On that basis Simmy's old friend Inspector Moxon begins to investigate the circumstances around Bruno's curious death ...