Shakespeare and Smythe join the ranks of Wolfe and Goodwin, Holmes and Watson and, at times, Abbott and Costello, as this light-hearted pair of amateur detectives stumble in and out of danger and use their wits to survive both the conspiracies at hand and the cut-throat business of the Elizabethan theatre. Will Shakespeare, Symington "Tuck" Smythe and their band of thespians are contracted to provide theatrical entertainment at a rural estate as part of a large wedding pageant. When the headstrong Bridge turns up dead, and overhead conversations contain conspiratorial plots against the families involved, Will and Tuck must once again pull double duty as thespians and sleuths to solve the case of THE SLAYING OF THE SHREW.