Mma Ramotswe is still engaged to Mr J.L.B. Matekoni. She wonders when a day for the wedding will be named, but she is anxious to avoid putting too much pressure on her fiance. For he has other things on his mind - notably a frightening request made of him by Mma Potokwani.

Von Igelfeld is quite pleased with his role as a visiting scholar at Cambridge, even if his English colleagues can be difficult to comprehend. They frequently speak in metaphors and make peculiar assumptions, saying such odd things as "I take it your journey went well," when that is not the case at all. But von Igelfeld settles in the best he can, and is soon deeply embroiled in some shady political scheming at the university. After returning to the...

In the words of Alexander McCall Smith: 'You feel the rocking of the train, you hear the sound of its wheels on the rails; you are in the world rather than suspended somewhere above it. And sometimes there are conversations to be had, which is what the overarching story in this collection is all about. It is a simple device: people brought together entertain one another with tales of what happened to them on trains. It takes place on a journey I frequently...

Still enduring psychotherapy, the precocious Bertie gets a chance to escape when he joins a junior orchestra trip to Paris--wher he is accidentally left behind. Never fear for Bertie, though. He quickly finds the silver lining by making friends with students at the Sorbonne. Meanwhile, Domenica Macdonald heads to the Malacca Straits, where she intends to study the economic structure of contemporary pirate culture. And in Edinburgh, Pat entertains...

Between glances in the mirror, vain Bruce contemplates a new career as a wine merchant. His troubled flat-mate Pat finds herself looking for true love at a nudist picnic. Precocious Bertie, now six years old, prepares for kindergarten despite the horror of being forced to wear pink overalls. Meanwhile, his domineering mother Irene and his psychotherapist Dr. Fairbairn struggle with dark secrets as Bertie plots his rebellion against them. And so it's...

First a cobra appears in Precious Ramotswe's office; then a nurse from the medical clinic reveals to Mma Ramotswe about faulty blood-pressure readings being recorded there. Later, it looks as though Aunty Emang, the advice columnist in the local newspaper, may not be what she seems.

While Precious Ramotswe travels to a game reserve to investigate the death of an American tourist, trouble brews back home. Mma Makutsi launches the Complaint Half Hour, providing herself a forum for her grievances. And Precious' dependable husband Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni suddenly decides to mortgage his auto repair shop.

Handling a busy case load at The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and contending with an intruder in her home, Mma Ramotswe has plenty on her mind. So when her unfortunate past returns to haunt her, she is happy her husband, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, is distracted as well. It seems one of his apprentices at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors has raced off with an older, wealthy woman.