In the wake of an unthinkable family tragedy, Flavia is struggling to fill her empty days. Dogger, the loyal family servant, suggests a boating trip for Flavia and her two older sisters. As their punt drifts past the church where a notorious vicar had recently dispatched three of his female parishioners by spiking their communion wine with cyanide, something grazes Flavia's fingers as she dangles them in the water. In her grip is a human head, attached to a human body.