Mr. Spring is on his own. Not only is he single but he refuses to be governed by the normal rules of society, rubbing some folk up the wrong way. Paddy's ambition to be the area's first serial killer is thwarted because he's just too kind. He buys Mr. Spring a tricycle, cementing their friendship, and when Paddy loses his job they set up in business together, despite the old man's arthritis.

An accidental death in the small town remains unexplained but the Swansea police leave well alone, having had their fingers burnt by the local arsonist. Nobody takes responsibility for the three-legged dog.

Mysterious graffiti appears on walls and pavements, clearly crafted by someone with literary pretensions but a sick mind. As the gossip increases, Mr Spring is seen as a loose cannon (not the loose vicar - he was in the last story) and the respectable types dub him 'the town nuisance' and plot against him. Paddy cheerfully supports him but Lucy, his girlfriend, loses patience with them both after they throw tins of beans at the TV set.

It is more by luck than judgment that summer visitors from Milwaukee solve the puzzle. Or so they think.