Mr. Darcy, a cat with a splendid snowy-white cravat and an exceptionally sensitive tail, is rescued from Katoomba RSPCA Shelter by Elizabeth and her friend Charlotte Collins. With the aid of an (unknown) amanuensis, he invites us to grasp his paw (not literally, he isn't a tactile cat) and accompany him as he takes us on a journey back, into his dark and loveless past ... Returning to the present, Charlotte persuades Elizabeth - and Mr. Darcy - to accompany her on, quote, "a creative retreat to 'Myalla', a picturesque and delightfully quirky homestead on the South Coast, in beautiful Blue Crab Bay." Feeling definitely out of their depth, Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy and Charlotte mingle with an odd group of fellow residents: Hugh (the amiable manager), artists, writers (including a very arrogant and successful one), tutors, the resident chef and later, the very odd owner of 'Myalla', Magenta Lawless. It isn't very long before Mr. Darcy's sensitive tail begins to quiver. And when a body is found in a clearing on a lonely hillside, his tail positively bristles ... Pretty soon, police officers arrive to mingle with the residents of 'Myalla'; and Mr. Darcy knows he has to draw upon his own inner resources - high intelligence and 'street smarts' - to find the killer, with a little help from the humans ...