© ITV/Mark Bourdillon
MIDSOMER MURDERS
WILD
HARVEST
DETAILED
SYNOPSIS
© ITV/Mark Bourdillon
After hearing shots in the night, 60s model turned herbalist Lizzy Thornfield discovers the body of Martin Strickland. The wealthy Midsomer Wyvern landowner has been tied to a tree and mauled to death.
Martin's second wife Camilla tells Barnaby that he had fallen out with the tenants of Wyvern House, his former family home, now a restaurant run by tyrannical celebrity chef Ruth Cameron and her husband Johnny Linklater. Martin was also angry about £10,000 worth of truffles stolen from his land.
The dead man's last phone call was to Angela Linklater, landlady of the Stag & Huntsman and ex-wife of Johnny - she's also his lover. Camilla put up with the affair, but she is very angry to learn Martin left his substantial estate to his daughter Amy, ambitious commis-chef at Wyvern House.
The police confiscate shotguns from farmhand Jamie Weston but the post mortem reveals that Martin was covered in truffle oil and eaten alive by wild boar.
Ruth's protégé and whipping boy Nick Iver, sous chef at Wyvern House, is appalled to discover Ruth has stolen his recipes for her latest book 'Wild Harvest'. He throws a jug of fruit compote at her and storms out just as Barnaby and Nelson arrive.
None of the women in Martin's life seem to be too upset he's dead. Amy tells Johnny she's now his landlady and wants to invest in Wyvern House in return for a share of the business.
Jamie shows Barnaby and Nelson the site of the stolen truffles and they spot a bat box hiding a security camera. Jamie's sister Stephanie, the local butcher and Nick's girlfriend, reels at the news.
Ruth is signing books at the farmers' market when Lizzy accuses her of killing her son Max.
Ruth returns to the restaurant in time to see Amy drop dead after tasting the wild celery and mushroom soup - the 'celery' is in fact a type of hemlock. Meanwhile Johnny and Angela's son Ferdy, the kitchen porter, is found in possession of magic mushrooms.
Camilla now stands to inherit, while Nick claims Martin offered to make him head chef at Wyvern House but he turned it down because of a long-held loyalty to Ruth. Then Barnaby and Sarah realise Ruth was the intended victim. Could the murderer strike again?
Meanwhile, CCTV identifies the truffle thief as Johnny, who claims Martin was blackmailing him to get control of the restaurant. He's arrested as Barnaby discovers that Ruth was in a car crash 22 years ago. Max Thornfield, her boyfriend, was killed and Lizzy blames Ruth.
Nick's past catches up with him while Jamie and Stephanie are caught red-handed. As Ruth tries to atone for her wrongdoings, the killer strikes again, but once again the poison spreads wider than its intended target. Will anyone else die before the case is solved?