The unveiling of a newly-discovered novel by deceased Midsomer crime-writer George Summersbee at the Luxton Deeping Crime Festival is jeopardised when the manuscript is stolen and a woman is fatally electrocuted by a booby-trapped roulette wheel. Can new dad Barnaby untangle a web of jealousy and obsession to find the killer?
The plot revolves around Richard Bean (Kline), a Broadway star known for his egotism, who experiences a public breakdown and retreats to his hometown. After returning to the family-run theater where he first discovered his talent, he finds his father, the