MIDSOMER MURDERS
THE CREEPER
DETAILED SYNOPSIS
Midsomer's Chettham Park House, once owned by Sir William Chettham, has been bought by entrepreneur Jack Filby to save Sir William from financial ruin. Long-term friends dating back to the days of university, Jack has allowed William, his mother Elizabeth, wife Isobel and son Freddy to stay on living at The Dower House - the smaller house on the estate where the Baronet's widowed mother would traditionally live. Jack is the man of the manor now with William and Isobel's son Freddy as his right hand man.
The Chettham's are throwing a family dinner party to celebrate Freddy's birthday, and all of William and Isobel's old university friends are there - David Roper, an author and Freddy's godfather; Dr Goring, the local GP; village art dealer Hugo Greening and, of course, Jack Filby. But the party is soured when Jack Filby and David Roper have an argument over a book Roper wants to write about their 'gang' from university - "a portrait of a generation" - and Roper is found dead in his bed the following morning.
Meanwhile, The Creeper is a local burglar raiding the homes of the wealthy and Inspector Barnaby's boss, Chief Constable Richard Lovell. What is the connection between Lovell and the other families who have been burgled, and is The Creeper now a murderer as well as a thief? When Dr Goring is found murdered Barnaby uncovers the key to the whole case - a Chettham family secret which has had murderous consequences. Are Sir William and Lady Isobel Chettham really the model couple, or what lies beneath their flawless aristocratic veneer?