Taking a much needed respite from her duties as vicar of the ever-embattled St. Bede's Episcopal Church in Fishersville, New Jersey, Mother Lavinia Vinnie Grey finds that parish politics have followed her on a weekend retreat to the monastery of St. Hugh in upstate New York. Led by Brother Basil, a devout and erudite monk, the retreat takes a bad turn when Father Rupert Bingley, Mother Vinnie's arch nemesis, shows up at St. Hugh's accompanied by a pompous politico, a wiggly blonde, and an assortment of other charming oddballs. From there, things only get worse. Poor Brother Basil is found dead and questions need to be answered posthaste: Who on the retreat was guarding a deadly secret? How did the elderly monk's presence threaten to reveal that secret? And can they stop the killer from getting away with murder?