For Colorado caterer Goldy Schulz, accepting a series of bookings at Hyde Castle is like a dream come true. It's not every day that she gets to cook authentic Elizabethan fare - especially at a real castle that was brought over from England and reassembled stone by stone in Aspen Meadow. Goldy is determined that everything will go right - which is why, she figures later, everything went terribly wrong.
It all started before dawn on the day of the first Anglophile lunch, when Goldy had just about the rudest awakening possible: a shotgun blast through her living room window. With her home now a crime scene and her cop husband Tom out of town searching for a fugitive hijacker, Goldy has no choice but to show up for work at the castle - six hours early. And it doesn't take her long to realize that her early-morning wake-up call was only the beginning.
While out checking on the tables for the luncheon, Goldy spots something strange lying in Cottonwood Creek. Upon closer inspection, she can see that it is a body, clad in flannel and shot through the head. Goldy quickly dials 911, but before the police arrive, shots ring out for the second time that day - and this time, someone Goldy loves is right in the line of fire.