When B. Comfort's The Cashmere Kid appeared in 1993, Publishers Weekly wrote, Vermont goat-herding may not sound like material for a gripping mystery, but in Comfort's hands it achieves that dimension. Now readers who missed the earlier adventures of Tish McWhinny can enjoy the very first, also set in the pristine, picture-perfect village of Lofton.

The tranquility of this southern Vermont haven is disturbed, however, when Tish's newest neighbor arrives and proves to be an entire cult. Calling itself The Ring of Right, its intent and purposes are anything by apparent.

Tish first senses that something is odd when a young reporter arrives to write an article on the Ringers and promptly disappears. Then, walking in the woods, Tish tumbles into what on examination seems to be an ancient Druid cave. By the time the inevitable murder takes place and Tish herself looks like the suspect, the little town has been transformed into a hotbed of intrigue.