Agatha Raisin has never been one for enforced holiday cheer, but her friendly little village of Carsely has always prided itself on its traditional Christmas festivities. However, this year Mr John Sunday, an officer, has chosen Christmas as the time to crack down on what he sees as gross misconduct by everyone.
When a woman's body is found in a North London flat clutching a bloodstained sliver of X-ray, DI Thorne discovers that the victim's mother had herself been murdered fifteen years before by the infamous serial killer Raymond Garvey. When more bodies and more fragments of X-ray are discovered, a horrifying picture emerges: a killer is targeting the children of Garvey's victims...