Verity Beardwood's very first case! The harvest in the apple orchard of Alice Alcott's old country house, where her friends and relatives had gathered, became mournful. Quite unexpectedly, an uninvited guest appeared there - the ex-husband of a young relative of the owner Anna, who had arrived there with unclear intentions. no one wanted to see him, and even managed to shock both Alice herself and the guests with his behavior. And soon this troublemaker was found dead in the garden... The police are at a loss: what happened? Suicide, accident - or sophisticated murder? Verity begins her own investigation and gradually realizes: it seems that everyone in the house has something to hide. Everyone is lying or not telling something... But which one of them is the murderer?..