Midlife crisis was not a strong enough way of describing what happened when Margery Granger's uneventful life was turned abruptly upside-down by the sudden death her boringly unexciting husband. She realized that she would have to get a paid job, so she took a computer course and applied for a post as a resident estate manager for a retirement estate. Much to her surprise, she got it. She had hardly moved into the bungalow than life on the estate took a dramatic turn when a Roman villa was found at the edge of the estate, and a team of archaeologists took over causing hearts to flutter, including Margery's. A final crisis occurred when finds were stolen and one of the archaeologists, David, was found dead. His rival on the team, Leo, was the chief suspect and he and Margery followed a trail to Cyprus and back.