Despite having already made a spectacle of himself in front of the locals, Peter Mayle tries to settle into the relaxed Provencal way of doing things. However, he finds that there is still much to divert him from his endeavours to lead the quiet life. An urgent call from London requesting truffles leads Mayle to a shady rendezvous at the side of a dusty road; the discovery of antique gold coins at the bottom of the garden turns into a night-time treasure hunt; the prospect of forest fires has him nervously looking over his shoulder; and he even tracks down a man whose ambition is to make toads sing the "Marseillaise".