Kathryn Ardleigh, an outspoken, free-thinking American, accepts employment with a kindly maiden aunt living in Victorian England and finds herself investigating a mysterious death at an archaeological excavation and two other murders much closer to home.
In the wake of an ill-reputed constable's murder, former mystery novelist Kate Arleigh teams up with amateur scientist Sir Charles and the shy Beatrix Potter to find out how the killing may be linked to a child's disappearance.
Newlyweds Charles and Kate Sheridan move to Bishop's Keep, Kate's ancestral home, and agree to hold an automobile exhibition and balloon race attended by Europe's gentry, but the gala soon turns deadly.