In WWII England, the quiet village of Sitting Marsh is faced with food rations and fear for loved ones. But Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton, lady of the Manor House, stubbornly insists that life must go on. Sitting Marsh residents depend on Elizabeth to make sure things go smoothly. Which means everything from sorting out gossip to solving the occasional murder...

As the threat of invasion has loomed over Sitting Marsh for the past five years, the town's citizens have had little reason to celebrate. But now a wedding is taking place, and everyone is ready to enjoy the festivities. It seems like the perfect day. That is, until an uninvited guest appears at the reception...and ends up stabbed through the heart. Elizabeth is soon on the case, and there's no shortage of suspects. Can she put the pieces together before the wrong man is convicted?