The picturesque village of Winter Parva has decided to warm the winter months by roasting a pig in the town square. Agatha, always one for a good roasting, has arrived with her former protge and current rival in the private detection racket to enjoy the merriment. But as the rotary spit is placed over a bed of fiery charcoals, Agatha realizes that things are not as they seem.

An irresistible new adventure for the bossy, vain, and endearing Agatha Raisin--now the star of a hit show on Acorn TV and public television--from New York Times bestselling M.C. Beaton, "the reigning queen of the cozies" (Booklist).

Winter Parva is a "picturesque" (touristy) Cotswold village with gift shops, a medieval market hall, and thatched cottages. After a disappointing Christmas season, the parish council has decided to hold a special event in January, complete with old-fashioned costumes, morris dancing, and a pig roast on the village green.

Always one for a good roasting, Agatha Raisin organizes an outing to enjoy the merriment. The rotary spit turning over a bed of blazing charcoals is sure to please on this foggy and blistery evening. But as the fog lifts slightly, the sharp-eyed Agatha notices something peculiar about the pig: a tattoo of a heart with an arrow through it and the name Amy.

"Stop!" she screams suddenly. "Pigs don't have tattoos."

The "pig," in fact, is Gary Beech, a policeman not exactly beloved by the locals, including Agatha herself. Although Agatha has every intention of leaving matters to the police, everything changes when the Gary's ex-wife, Amy, hires Agatha's detective agency to investigate--and another murder ensues. With that provocation, how could any sleuth as vain and competitive (and secretly insecure) as Agatha do anything other than solve the case herself?