Cinnabar, a clever fox, comes out of his home every day at one o'clock to tease the fox hunters nearby and let them chase him until nightfall. Based on an old legend about foxhunting in the area around Mount Vernon, Cinnabar pits one very wily fox against George Washington himself.

"As winter deepens over the Blue Ridge Mountains, the annual Christmas fox hunt is interrupted by the discovery of a body and, "Sister" Jane Arnold and her company of loyal hounds find themselves faced with a pressing task--to uncover who has killed a beloved club faithful"--