Struggling to make ends meet, Barbara Buncle writes a novel inspired by the residents of her village, and not only does it leave the town in an uproar, but the events that happen in the book begin to happen to their real-life counterparts.

As the mistress of her own home with two small children to look after, Barbara Buncle (now Barbara Abbott) finds that she has little time to keep up with the goings-on of her friends and neighbours, but her niece is more than willing to keep tabs on the news in Wandlebury. And with juicy tidbits of gossip about everything from inconvenient romantic entanglements to German spies hiding in the woods, there is plenty to keep the two Mrs. Abbotts busy...