As owner of the Crewel World needlework shop and part-time sleuth, Betsy Devonshire has become skilled at weaving suspicious threads together. Just back from a trip to Thailand, Doris Valentine is eager to show her stitching friends her souvenirs, which includes dazzling Thai silk. She also has a small stone Buddha that she agreed to deliver to an antique store in St. Paul. It's wrapped in a dirty rag, which she throws away. When she meets the dealer, he is surprised that she unwrapped it, though relieved the statue's delicate hands aren't damaged. The next night, Doris's apartment is broken into, and the things she bought in Thailand are taken. The antique shop owner is found murdered and his shop ransacked. The Buddha is gone. Then someone confronts Doris with a gun, demanding the "Thai silk." Meanwhile, Betsy starts to wonder about the dingy wrapper she retrieved from the trash.