When Dave Cutler, the local postman, is found with his throat slit, Barnaby and Troy are on the case. Cutler it seems had slept with most of the woman in the village so between spurned lovers and irate husbands, there are any number of suspects. They are assisted by the local police in the form of the very attractive WPC Jay Nash, to whom Troy takes a instant liking. When a second and then a third murder takes place, the police realize they have a far more complex motive that simple jealousy.