On the slopes of the picturesque Côte Vermeille, in the southwestern corner of France, the grapes are ripening in the blazing hot August sun. It’s the summer holidays, the worst time of year, if you ask the smuggler of delicacies and bon vivant Perez. Tourists have taken over Banyuls-sur-Mer, he’s behind on his shipments and on top of all this his adored daughter wants to marry a man people commonly refer to as “the beanstalk.” When a dead man is found in his father’s vineyards, any semblance of peace is gone once and for all. The investigators are snooping around the vineyard and in Perez’s affairs. Apparently, of all things, the legendary Creus, a wine that is the backbone of his modest prosperity, has something to do with the man’s death. Amateur sleuth Perez sees himself compelled to take matters into his own hands and is soon forced to acknowledge that the tranquil coastal town is the setting of dark intrigues and familiar tragedies that reach all the way up to high-level politics.
