Claude Greengrass is playing host to a group of Norwegian history students. At the same time several burglaries are investigated, and Les Gulliver is a suspect as is Andy Ryan, a new guest at the Aidensfield Arms who takes Gina's breath away. The chief constable had asked Oscar Blaketon to form and chair a crime prevention committee in Aidensfield, and Oscar sees the robbery at the brewery as an excellent opportunity for his new committee to prove its worth. Not all committee members agree with him on how to do it.. Claude's Norwegians are especially interested in historic Viking sites. Only there are not many of those around, and Claude has to find a way...

A group of Taoist monks is stranded in Aidensfield when their bus breaks down on the way to a Taoist monastery near Middlesbrough. But their presence is a thorn in the side of Councillor Jowett who tries to raise a united front against them. Things don't get better when one of the monks is very ill and is taken to hospital. People fear he suffers from TB, which notorious burglar Terry "Non Stick" Tinniswood supposedly also died of the very same morning. Tinniswood's widow Rosie is especially nervous, because her two children Julie and Eddie were in the monks' bus nicking a gold statuette. Chips off the old block so to speak. DS Dawson has got a tip that stolen antiquities have found their way to Ashfordly. Some of them turn up in Mr. Brigstocke's antique shop. The police lock the shop and take possession of the keys, but when they come to search the place the next day some candlesticks have gone missing. Carol Cassidy is sad because, although an adoption agency has traced her mother, she passed away several years ago. PC Mason offers to lend an ear if Carol needs somebody to talk to.