"A female Vicar named Sarah Hussein is discovered strangled in her Kingsmarkham Vicarage. The gossipy cleaning woman who discovers her body, Maxine, happens to also be in the employ of retired Chief Inspector Wexford and his wife. When detective inspector Mike Burden calls him, Wexford, intrigued by the unusual circumstances of the murder, leaps at the chance to tag along with the investigators. A single-mother to a teenage girl, Hussein was a woman...

Contents: A pair of yellow lilies -- Paperwork -- Mother's help -- Long live the queen -- Dying happy -- The copper peacock -- Weeds -- The fish-sitter -- An unwanted woman.