It has never occurred to Precious Ramotswe, as she discusses over cups of bush tea with her associate Mma Makutsi such important matters as the afterlife and the purchase of a fine new bed with a heart-shaped headboard, that there may be disadvantages to being the best-known lady detective in Botswana.But when she receives a threatening anonymous letter from someone who knows exactly where to find her, Mma Ramotswe is compelled to reconsider her unconquerable belief in a kind world. While she ponders the identity of the letter-writer, Mma Ramotswe has a further set of problems to solve, both professional and personal.
There is an adopted child's poignant search for her true family, amd Mr J.L.B. Matekoni's pursuit of an expensive miracle for their own foster daughter, Motholeli. Mustering her good humour and accumulated wisdom to deal with these tricky issues, Mme Ramotswe nevertheless finds herself contemplating the complicated nature of truth - and whether it is sometimes better not to know it.