With her No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency in financial difficulty, Mma Ramotswe makes the tricky decision to share offices with her fiancé, Mr J. L. B. Matekoni. But although Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors could do with a little help, it is Mr Matekoni himself who really requires her attention.

If that weren’t enough, the agency is handling some highly puzzling cases: the government official whose sister-in-law is trying to poison his brother; the beauty pageant whose contestants aren’t as good as their looks; and the strange young boy, found naked and wild, and smelling of lion.