Beatrix Potter's tales have bewitched readers for a century. Now, fans of all ages cherish Susan Wittig Albert's Cottage Tales mysteries, starring Miss Potter herself...

After his haystack was torched, Mr. Harmsworth barricaded a common path through his Applebeck Orchard. But reliable witnesses, including Professor Owl, Fritz, and some of the Big Folk, say this was the handiwork of neither man nor beast, but of a lantern-wielding specter. The mournful ghost has a message -- and Miss Potter, for one, hopes to figure it out...

Meanwhile in Sawrey, romance buds between the schoolmarm and a confirmed bachelor; Hyacinth Badger hopes to be the first female to earn the Badger Badge of Authority, and a rumor has Beatrix and the solicitor practically betrothed. But the matter of the barricade involves one and all -- and Miss Potter and her friends might have to take matters into their own hands -- and paws...