Commander Adam Dalgliesh, who had spent three summers at St. Anselm's in his youth, offers to poke around. Others present include only a few of the students, the Fathers, the resident help, a visiting lecturer, Emma Lavenham, and a researcher, Clive Stannard. Even before Dalgliesh arrives, a second death has occurred. It appears to have been a natural one, though in this case the reader already knows for certain that it was not. The atmosphere is not the happiest at the college.
Tensions run quite high.
The recent deaths don't help, but it is the possibly imminent closure of the college weighs most heavily. There is a considerable amount of money involved. There are also personal grudges galore. Sure enough soon enough there has been more murder most foul, as the Archdeacon gets his head bashed in. The first part of Death in Holy Orders , until the Archdeacon's death, is the strongest.