The story begins with a Prologue introducing the character of Sylvia Finch. Sylvia is depressed and haunted by death. She longs for something good to happen.

At a meeting of the Thursday Murder Club, Elizabeth Best, Joyce Meadowcroft, Ibrahim Arif, and Ron Ritchie discuss a cold case. Over lunch, Joyce announces she is considering adopting a dog. The friends are served by a new waitress named Poppy, with a daisy tattoo on her arm.

Elizabeth is distracted, thinking about a letter she received that morning. The letter claims to be from Marcus Carmichael and states that he has just moved to Coopers Chase retirement village. Elizabeth is invited to call on him the following afternoon at three o’clock. The invitation is a surprise as Marcus Carmichael was the identity of a nonexistent double agent created by Elizabeth while working for MI5.

In the seaside resort of Fairhaven, PC Donna De Freitas and DCI Chris Hudson are on a stake-out. The police officers are monitoring activities at a location owned by “queenpin” Connie Johnson. Connie has monopolized the area’s drug deals since her predecessors, the Antonio brothers, went missing.