One would think that after Detective Inspector Tanika Malik was cautioned by her superiors about the involvement of civilians in her investigations, then the members of the Marlow Murder Club would lie low for a bit to keep Tanika out of trouble. Not so much. The wife of Oliver Beresford, founder of the Marlow Amateur Dramatic Society, turns up at Judith's house asking for her help. The MADS committee went out on the Marlow Belle for a cruise along the river and now Oliver is missing. So Judith, Becks, and Suzie begin looking into the lives of the MADS members and those of the other people on the boat.
As usual, existing relationships crop up during the investigation. Suzie knows the owner of the Marlow Belle and suspects he is hiding something. Judith actually joins the cast of "The Importance of Being Earnest" to get closer to the society members and pick up on group dynamics and possible secrets. Becks is having a bit of drama at home - her daughter's boyfriend has convinced her to drop out of school and go on a trip with a charitable organization instead.
While leads are followed and witnesses are questioned, Tanika is trying to avoid any more complaints from Detective Sergeant Perry about the women helping with murder cases. It seems that Perry is "going through a tough patch" and that he "took his inspector's exams earlier this year and failed." Suzie seems to have nailed the motivation for his complaints when she tells Tanika, "So he's taking it out on you, because you passed yours." It doesn't help that everywhere the police visit, the women are there. They even find a piece of evidence along the riverbank while out in Judith's punt and conscientiously bring it to the police station.
There seem to be a limited number of suspects in Beresford's death - the committee members on the boat, it's captain, and the guest of honor. If there was no one else hiding aboard the Marlow Belle, it must be one of them. The problem is that everyone involved seems to have a motive - an unhappy wife, a boat owner who has been bullied into the charter, a frenemy with an ongoing feud - and even other members of the MADS had their own quarrels or dissatisfaction with the deceased. Perhaps DS Perry should relax and be grateful for help from the Marlow Murder Club after all.
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