Mma Ramotswe is reluctantly persuaded by Mr J. L. B. Matekoni to take a holiday from her detective work. But she finds it impossible to resist the temptation to interfere with the cases taken on by her co-director - secretly, she intends. This leads her to delve into the past of a famous man whose reputation has been called into question, and to join forces with a new assistant detective, Mr Polopetsi. While 'on holiday', Mma Ramotswe also manages to help a young boy in the search for his missing mother; and then of course there is the agency's arch-enemy, Violet Sephotho, scheming to set up a rival secretarial college. In the end, Mma Ramotswe finds that a little trust goes a long way, especially when it comes to having confidence in her dearest friends and colleagues.