千氏家族的唯一继承人千叶被“二十九岁就会遭遇不幸”的家族诅咒所困扰，迫不得已接受了奶奶雇佣的保镖吴士茂。由于二人出身和性格各不相同，相处中冲突不断。千叶费尽心思赶走了吴士茂，吴士茂却冒着生命危险从千叶前男友沈轩宇的手中救走了她，并将她带回梅花拳基地。 吴士茂的师傅答应暂时收留千叶，条件是不能扰乱其他弟子修行。吴士茂和千叶迫不得已谈起了地下恋爱。但谁想到，千叶的奶奶居然是师傅的旧时相好，师傅一反常态开始频频“助攻”。此时沈轩宇忽然出现，誓要夺回千叶......
The disappearance of Sir Julius Hanbury - and the theft of several of his erotic paintings - provide a new puzzle for Morse to solve. Assisted by DS Lewis, Morse interviews everyone at Hanbury House and it is in the course of searching the grounds that he finds Sir Julius' body, appropriately enough, in the family mausoleum. The pathologist notes that he was the victim of a frenzied attack but the lack of blood at scene leaves the police to conclude that he murdered elsewhere. Sir Julius was a candidate to become the Master of an Oxford college and was known to have a have had a bitter rivalry with another candidate for the position. When Roger Meadows, a friend of the Hanbury's au pair, is killed in a car accident, Morse concludes that that he too was murdered. Jealousy, revenge and greed all play part in the deaths.
Henry Fallon, who is wheelchair bound and is suffering from a neurological disorder, apparently commits suicide and Morse has mixed feelings working on this case as he was once engaged to the dead man's wife, Susan Fallon. The body was found by his son-in-law Peter Rhodes, a local antiques dealer and the victim's wife was in London. When Fallon's doctor advises Morse that Henry didn't have the physical capability to hold a gun to his head, the police realize they may have a murder on their hands. When the police are told that the business arrangement between Fallon and Rhodes had fallen apart, they also have a suspect. Lewis is concerned that Morse is too close to Mrs. Fallon to be objective but in the end, the perpetrators are identified.
