Ian Craigie is the "master" of a new-age commune. He founded the center with a partner, Bill Carter, to scam the rich but over time, came to believe in the objectives and the good work they did. When Carter is found dead at the bottom of a staircase, the question is whether he fell or was pushed. Barnaby and Troy encounter an eclectic group of commune residents. There is Ken and Heather Beavers whom Barnaby discovers had a very interesting past; Sylvie Gamelin who has just announced that she is donating the several million pound inheritance she received on her 18th birthday; her father Guy who who is absolutely opposed to the donation and her dipsomaniac mother, Felicity; and Christopher Wainwright who may also be hiding something from his past. When another murder is committed, it is left to Barnaby to sift through the backgrounds of the various individuals to find the motive behind the two murders.