After a murder at the Brokenwood Steampunk event, Mike and his team are thrown into a world of dress-up and escapism where the suspects all have alter-egos.
World-renowned crime-writing author Jack Rudd visits Brokenwood to give a reading at the local book club from his latest novel - but never leaves, falling victim to a method of murder portrayed in his own book.
When an animal activist is killed on the first day of duck hunting season, Mike and the team must determine whether it was an accidental shooting, or something more sinister.