Sunday, 28 September 2008
8.40pm

Witchcraft is the talk of Midsomer when tensions flare between former friends Aloysius Wilmington (Stuart Wilson) and Ernest Balliol (Ronald Pickup). Ernest, who runs a store selling magical artefacts, is a firm believer in a cult called the Temple of Thoth, but Aloysius has upset him by writing a book claiming the dark mythology was his own drunken creation.

Desperate to prove the cult is real, Ernest wants to locate a medieval text about the Temple in Aloysius's library. Aloysius's nephew Simon (Dominic Rowan) is cataloguing the collection, whilst also stealing some valuable editions to pay off his debts to antiquarian bookseller Hugo Cartwright (Michael Fitzgerald).

Isolde Balliol (Rachel Pickup), Ernest's daughter, tries to charm Simon into helping them, while his son Tristan (Tom Goodman-Hill) shoulders the burden of caring for their mother, who is losing her mind.

Tragedy strikes during Aloysius's magic show, when his assistant Jean Wildacre (Kate Crutchley) drops dead as they perform a trick inside the 'Chamber of Death'. A broken ritual knife is found in the casket.
As Barnaby (John Nettles) and Jones (Jason Hughes) investigate, the members of the Magic Circle all seem to be hiding something.

A post mortem reveals that Jean was poisoned by a deadly toxin secreted by a tropical frog. Aloysius, who lived with tribes in South America, realises he is the prime suspect - but also wonders if he was the intended target.

Simon finds an ancient manuscript which could be what Isolde and Ernest are seeking, as Hugo shows Aloysius a broken ritual arrow he received in the post. The next morning, Hugo is found dead with cuts on his hands - another victim of frog poisoning.

As Barnaby goes through old letters kept by Jean and Hugo, he makes a shocking discovery about Aloysius. But will he manage to find the killer before another member of the Magic Circle dies?