Celia Gilmour is calling at her sister Eileen Bayne when she scares off two burglars, Jimmy and Danny. PC Ventress inspects the place, but finds neither her nor her husband Tommy at home and nothing unusual. When Tommy Bayne returns PC Bradley and PC Bellamy check the house again and find Eileen Bayne dead in a locked room on the 1st floor. Meanwhile Greengrass is on to another scheme of Jimmy and Danny's. They clog up people's drainpipes and then offer to clean them again for £15 and Greengrass wants to clean up before they do. Aunt Mary gets a visit from Bill, an old friend who offers her a position as manager of his hotel in Sidmouth. Sergeant Craddock is going on a short leave to teach new police cadets at the training centre and wants a completely clean slate before he goes.

PC Bellamy set off in pursuit of a pursuit of a man, who supposedly stole the purse of Alice Armstrong. He does not catch the guy, but manages to retrieve the purse - minus her money. He is sure he will catch the culprit, but it may take some time because a series of break-ins at fashionable estates keep the police in Ashfordly occupied. The burglar may be a member of a small circus, which Vernon Scripps puts up for the winter. Scripps persuades Lord Ashfordly to let the exotic animals graze on his estate and open a wildlife park. But they may get more than they bargained for when the whole circus turns up and the animals escape and scatter all over Aidensfield. Col. Barber is very fond of telling stories about his exploits during the war, but his memory may not be what it used to be. Maybe it never was?

Helen and Rob's wedding. Noisy neighbours.