Mma Ramotswe is back, and this time she is being challenged by a new detective agency in Gaborone. The new detective is a gentleman who claims that the fact that he was trained by the CDI in South Africa, has experience working in New York, and has lots of streets of smarts amkes his agency far superior than the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. It is frustrating to hear such sexist advertising, but our hero is never one to let that kind of thing get her down. She continues to pursue her cases to a successful conclusion.

Her assistant Mma Mikutsi gets her first opportunity to really shine as she decides that being an assistant manager of a garage and an assistant detective are not enough to keep her busy or help build up her savings after she sends money home to help her family. She decides that it might be a good idea to start a business of her own. She knows that it can be done thanks to the wonderful example Mma Ramotswe has provided. After much thought, Mma Mikutsi decides she is going to start a typing school for men. Many men need to improve their typing skills because of the demands placed on them to work with computers. She is hoping her school would provide a niche for men who want to learn, but who are ashamed to do so in a class full of women who might do better than them. It turns out to be a good idea, and she finds out that it might provide more than money.

Mma Ramotswe and her fiance, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, are still going forward with no plans for a wedding date, but they are finding much happiness with the two children they are fostering. It is quickly becoming clear they are becoming a real family.

Once again Smith has build a great tale filled with humor, the beauty of Africa, and a sense of the quality of a simplified life. The characters are the true strength of the series, and they continue to grow and develop with each volume.