As Botswana awaits the familiar blessing of the rains and their eternal cycle, upheaval is taking place at the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Not only is Mr J. L. B. Matekoni attempting to reform himself into a modern husband but, following her marriage to Phuti Radiphuti, Mma Makutsi has joyful news. With the arrival of an heir to the Double Comfort furniture empire and Mma Makutsi busy with motherhood, cobras and a senior aunt, Mma Ramotswe must grapple alone with tea-making, detective work and a new uncertainty. Disturbing developments over the will of local dignitary Edgar Molapo point to fraud and a shocking family secret, while tracing the source of a smear campaign against the Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon, in which notorious troublemaker Violet Sephotho may or may not have a hand, requires a keen eye and an open mind.

But the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency is resilient and adaptable, and change brings salutary lessons: our enemies are not always obvious; a snake under the bed may be an ally; and a mother's love conquers all.