The Cornish village of Porthennis, with its perilous clifftops and breathtaking seascapes, is a perfect setting for the high drama of Shakespeare…and also perfect for a real-life tragedy. Mortimer Lacy – a part-gypsy fashion designer and holdover from the 60s, and a Porthennis local for many years – convinces playwright Augustus Maltravers and his girlfriend, actress Tess Davy, that he feels a murder take place. When the aging sculptor Martha Shaw is found crushed to death by one of her own granite statues, the three realise it is not merely a tragedy, but an act of violence. Who would want to kill the founding mother of the artists community? She led a quiet life with her lover, the poet Ruth Harvey, and surrounded herself with other artists, offbeat neighbours, and gentle locals – except that one of them must be a murderer… Gus and Tess, a dramatic duo who double as amateur sleuths, embark on an ambitious investigation among the artists, writers, and bon vivants who give Porthennis its charm and eccentricity – determined to find out just who turned his or her talents to the art of murder.