1976; summer is fast approaching and the British Isles is on the verge of a severe drought. However, the hot, dry weather is welcome news for Cornwall's holiday trade, and Wild West enthusiast, Raymond Withers, and his long suffering wife, Gloria, who run Trengillion's Inn, anticipate a lucrative season. At the end of June, a stranger appears on the scene bearing the name Penwynton, causing consternation amongst locals, for the Penwynton name died out with the death of Charles ten years earlier. Consequently, the hundred year old mystery regarding Grenville Penwynton who vanished from the family home once again becomes a topical conversation. Meanwhile, the newly arrived students socialise with Trengillion's youngsters; Molly Smith makes elderflower champagne, and Ned, the village school's headmaster, reaches the grand age of fifty. Grave Allegations is the fourth in a series of seven books located in Trengillion on Cornwall's beautiful Lizard Peninsula. The series covers a period of sixty years.