Sergeant Hamish Macbeth is alarmed to receive a report from a woman in the small Highlands village of Cronish. She has been brutally attacked and a dangerous criminal is on the loose...but on further investigation it would appear she was lying about the crime. When the same woman calls Hamish back a few days later about an intruder in her house, he takes her claim with a pinch of salt - only this time it would appear she was telling the truth as her body is found in her home...and Hamish must sort through all her lies to solve her murder.