Monk's house is being fumigated and he has nowehere to go. Fortunately, his assistant Natalie and her daughter are kind enough to welcome him into their home. Unfortunately, their home is not quite up to Monk's standard of cleanliness. But while Monk tries to arrange his surroundings, the death of a dog at the local fire station - on the same night as a fatal house fire - has led Monk into a puzzling mystery. And much to his horror, he's going to have to dig through a lot of dirt to find the answer.