Petra, a young mystery novelist, is living in London when she learns of the death of her cousin Aylmar, her kindly guardian and master of Aylforth Priory. When she returns to the picturesque home of her childhood for the memorial service, she finds there an odd assortment of relatives, including the new owner of Aylforth, Grim-faced Gavin, a cousin from Canada whom Petra has never met before. There, too, are her old foe Cousin Eugenia, with her beautiful+ daughter Isabelle, whom Petra has always envied, and Amaury and Nico, two handsome French cousins who spent the war years with Petra at Aylforth.