The story centers around a 17-year-old young man named Billy Weaver who travels to Bath, England on business. Along the way, he catches sight of a [BED AND BREAKFAST] sign and is inexplicably and hypnotically charmed by the sign outside the door and the cozy setting within, so he decides to put up there for the night. He is greeted by a middle-aged, cheerful and talkative landlady, who insists upon sitting and conversing with the young man, serving him tea (Dahl refers to the tea tasting of "bitter almonds", implying it contains cyanide). Billy is slightly perplexed by the lack of guests registered in the guest book, two of whose names he recalls from newspaper reports on missing men, though she insists that they are still staying with her in rooms upstairs. She also mentions her passion for taxidermy and stuffing her deceased house-pets, a parrot and a dachshund. The story ends with Weaver having drunk the tea, implying he will die of cyanide poisoning and be stuffed to be added to the landlady's collection.