Ex-zoologist Coralie King rules over a very specific animal kingdom. Queen Bee of the Briar Heart Estate, with the biggest house and the hottest husband, she is undoubtedly a pillar of this exclusive Sevenoaks community. Therefore, when said hot husband insists he's seen a panther, it's only natural that Coralie takes the lead in the investigation.

Life's never been a fairy tale for Emma Brooks. A laughingstock among the other mothers, Emma sees the panther sightings as something other than a threat: a means to distract neighbours from her much-derided planning application. She's determined to get her happily ever after, and the monster in the woods might just be the ally she needs...

Twig Dorsett's new suburban existence suits her far less than the bohemian life she left behind when her daughter got sick. But perhaps it's not all bad; after all, the unrelenting media attention brought along by the mystery of the Sevenoaks panther offers Twig the twin opportunities of raising money for a life-saving treatment and reviving her long dead music career.

As the summer wears on, the big cat frenzy reaches a fever pitch, and everyone is watching their backs. But is the real predator a seventy-kilo cat with razor-sharp claws? Or is the actual danger of a far more domestic variety?