Malcolm Hardy, the new partner at Taviscombe's veterinary practice, is not a popular man; but without his money the surgery would have to close. Within a few weeks of starting his new job he seems to have upset most of the town: firing one of his long-serving colleagues; installing his girlfriend as veterinary assistant at the surgery; refusing to treat stray animals for free; accusing another colleague of malpractice as well as being seen out with a married woman. As far as Sheila Malory is concerned there is little to like about the new vet. But despite his unpopularity it is still a shock when Hardy collapses and dies at the surgery. And when the post-mortem reveals that his death was unnatural, suspicion instantly falls on his former colleagues. Could somebody at the practice be a killer? Or might the thoroughly unpleasant Malcolm Hardy have other enemies with murder in mind?