Careful not to be seen, Samantha Berry slips away from Whitcombe Grange dressed in Georgian period attire on her way to a secret rendezvous. Unaware that a drone is filming her, she is stabbed to death by an unseen assailant…With Kam away on a course, Barnaby and Winter meet locum pathologist Petra Antonescu. Clearly taken by Winter, she informs them that the victim was stabbed with a feather quill pen. Barnaby is puzzled to find a syringe lying nearby. Tracing Samantha to the Grange, Barnaby and Winter meet owners James and Kitty Oswood who explain they recently bought back Kitty’s childhood home to host Jane Austen experience weekends. Winter learns from the Oswoods’ rebellious daughter Polly that Samantha kept asking questions about the house and village. Local GP Solomon Franks, a guest at the event, was mysteriously absent at the time of the murder and Barnaby looks for connections. Samantha is found to be a journalist with a special interest in the village’s new delivery service for prescriptions - by drone. Barnaby notes that her mobile is missing. As an unknown person watches drone footage of the murder, Barnaby tracks down Gemma Christie, a villager who runs a Jane Austen fan club in competition with the Oswoods. At her tea room, Gemma says she never met Samantha, but evidence suggests she is lying. Meanwhile Winter meets drone boss Doug Vaughan and pilot Ronin Chow who deny using cameras on their drones. That night at drone HQ, a mystery figure breaks in and sets fire to Ronin’s laptop…