Spring is in the air in Bruncliffe. But not everyone is filled with the joys of the season. Implicated in the murder of a man in Leeds, the Dales Detective Agency's Samson O'Brien is facing tough questions from the police, while his business partner Delilah Metcalfe is facing criticism from her family and friends for her loyalty to the town's black sheep. Then the truth about Samson's policing past is brutally exposed and Bruncliffe turns its back on him, placing Delilah in an impossible position. Especially when her nephew, Nathan Metcalfe, accused of having been under the influence of the corrupt O'Brien, runs away from home. With everyone searching frantically for the missing boy and a toxic atmosphere tainting the town, only the local vet is paying attention to a worrying spate of deaths amongst his canine clientele. Suspecting foul play, he arrives at Samson's door. But when Samson turns to Delilah for assistance, will she be able to overlook his transgressions in order to help him uncover the source of the poison that is threatening her community? A poison that has the potential to tear her life apart.