Cleaner Stella Darnell and London Underground driver Jack Harmon take his stepchilldren Milly and Justin away for a month in the country. They hire Yew Tree House in a Sussex village. 

 

Stella's objective for this holiday is to see if she  can give up her independence and live with Jack's family. Jack's objective is to convince Stella that she can. 

 

Unlike most holidaymakers, when Stella finds a layer of dust in every room and few ornaments to give a sense of home, she is delighted. Missing deep cleaning, she has a job. 

 

All is going well - trips to the beach, fish and chips - until Justin and Milly find a skeleton in a  WWII civil defence structure (a pillbox) at the bottom of the garden. The body, some 80 years old, has been murdered. 

 

Detective Inspector Toni Kemp (The Companion) heads the case. When Toni discovers Stella is The Detective's Daughter and has solved murder cases of her own, Toni shares inside informatio with her. 

 

There there is another murder...