Langwick Green is a village that runs on tradition, patience, and the occasional cup of tea.

Then Colin Large arrives.

As the new planning officer, Colin believes rules exist to be followed?no exceptions. Satellite dishes must go. Shopfronts must be repainted. Café tables must disappear from the pavement. Even Arthur Ellison's beloved model village open day falls under his scrutiny.

Technically, Colin is always correct.

But Langwick Green has never been a place that responds well to being corrected.

As the months pass, tensions quietly build across the village. Shopkeepers grumble. Neighbours compare notes. And Colin's wife, Judith, finds herself caught between a husband who refuses to bend and a community slowly losing its patience.

Then one evening an argument at home goes tragically wrong.

When the case reaches court, the question is not who caused Colin's death.

The real question is why.

And the answer may lie in the quiet ways a village protects its own.