Blue Murder

Outside the small English village of Denbrook, a flock of well-cared for sheep live in blissful ignorance, believing they will turn into clouds instead of dying, as when faced with an uncomfortable situation, they simply will themselves to forget—except for 2 rams: Mopple, who lacks this ability; and Sebastian, a loner whom their shepherd, George Hardy, rescued from exploitation fighting dogs after hours at a carnival. George describes his life in letters to "Rebecca": he lives in a caravan atop a hillside meadow and spends his time tending to his flock and selling their wool. He notes that he gives each of his sheep a name, reads to them in the evenings, describes mixing and administering their orf medication that stains his hands blue, and explains that they discriminate against an unnamed "winter lamb", born in winter rather than the typical spring. He also describes some of the townspeople, and we then see vignettes of them interacting with him and each other, as well as a blond, bespectacled outsider attending the Denbrook cultural festival. Complaining that the festival isn't large enough to be called such, the outsider introduces himself as Elliott Matthews, an obituary writer for the Gazette who dreams of being a reporter and was sent by his features editor to photograph and write up the event. That night, during a downpour, he crashes his car into a tree heading out of town and has to call to be towed back. On the way back to town in the tow truck, he sees a flashlight shining through the rain and moving about George's meadow. The next morning, George is discovered dead outside his caravan, one hand curiously green. The town's only policeman, Tim Derry, initially thinks the cause of death is a heart attack, but an excited Matthews helps with crime scene photos and encourages him to look deeper, declaring that it could be a big break for both of them. At a town meeting, Tim accidentally announces that George was poisoned with taxine, a poison derived the berries of yew trees like those growing on the church grounds; the townspeople are shocked by the notion that one of them has committed murder. Devastated by George's death, the sheep decide to solve the mystery on their own, in particular ewe Lily, a crime aficionado who was good at solving the murder mystery novels George would read to them before going to bed. During a reading of George's will at the local inn, Lydia Harbottle, executor of his estate, reveals that George had twin children—a son and daughter—whose mother died in childbirth, and George, poor and young, decided to send them away for adoption via the church. Elliot is kicked out of the reading after Lydia determines he has no claim to being there. The daughter, Rebecca Hampstead from the U.S.A., had reconnected with George and exchanged letters, and just arrived in the country to visit him for the first time. Also in attendance are Tim, who develops a crush on Rebecca, Reverend Hillcoate, butcher Ham Gilyard, innkeeper Beth Pennock, and neighboring shepherd Caleb Merrow, who rented the rest of George's meadow on the other side of the hill until George recently terminated the lease. The son, Peter Van Vuren, who lives in South Africa, attends the reading remotely via a phone call. Lily and Sebastian observe from outside. It is further revealed that George was secretly worth a fortune after having sold the patent for the orf medication, which he invented himself. A new will that Tim and Elliott found on George's table awards this fortune to Rebecca along with George's sheep and her half of the land, replacing a three-month old will which donated the money to charity. Shortly after this, Mopple, who has gotten himself in trouble, barges into the reading, a blue pillow case with a green stain covering his eyes. Caleb notes Sebastian's wandering ways and warns that the sheep will run free without a shepherd. After their first day of investigating, Lily delivers a procedural mystery novel to Tim to help him with the case, then goes to talk to Sebastian on a rocky outcropping overlooking the hillside. Sebastian reveals to Lily that he was a winter lamb. Cloud, a member of the flock, admits she found one of Rebecca's silver bangles the night of the murder, contradicting Rebecca's claim of not having met her father. In the morning, the sheep lead Tim to this clue. Already suspicious after he and Elliott found Rebecca had changed her name from that given by her adoptive parents, and that she has a criminal history back in America, Tim gets a warrant and discovers a yew berry squashed in the sole of her boot. He arrests and jails her. Although not entirely certain that Rebecca is guilty, Lily and Mopple, soon to be taken in by Caleb, decide to explore his meadow and meet their future flock mates, only to discover that Caleb has been collaborating with Ham to slaughter sheep for their lamb chop business, explaining why George wanted to be rid of him. They are soon chased by Caleb's German Shephe…