PC Hamish Macbeth can't help but admire the resourcefulness of the Highlanders during the recession - in tough times they have to lure tourists to their sleepy towns, and the quaint old village of Braikie has come up with a novel solution. It really doesn't have that much to offer apart from a place of rare beauty called Buchan's Wood, which the clued-up local tourist board director has rechristened 'The Fairy Glen' and has had brochures printed with a beautiful kingfisher fishing from a lake on the cover. It isn't long before coach tours begin to arrive but just as the town's luck starts to turn, a kingfisher is found hanging from a branch in the woods with a noose around its neck. As a wave of vandalism threatens to ruin Braikie forever, its up to Hamish to get involved and his investigation quickly turns from mistreatment of birds to murder....