Plans by Barnaby to renew his wedding vows in Badger's Drift, are quickly put on hold when the body of a local property developer is found decapitated in his own home. The detective is left mystified as to why anyone would kill a man who only had weeks to live, after being recently diagnosed with a brain tumour. As he and Troy attempt to find out, they soon encounter a hotbed of local corruption and property feuding within the village as the body count rises and the mystery deepens.