On the isolated island of Salcott, Detective Inspector Lynley and Detective Sergeant Havers find themselves investigating a death shrouded in suspicion.

Lynley and Havers are tasked with investigating the vanishing of a young estate agent, a woman with ties to Lynley's former classmate, Helen Clyde.

In the tranquil expanse of the Norfolk Broads, Lynley discovers the body of a well-known young man. She soon finds herself immersed in the intricate web of secrets that bind together the tight-knit community, compelled to unravel the truth …

Detectives Havers and Lynley pursue a line of inquiry suggesting a connection between a series of crimes and the Church, but their investigation unearths troubling hints of corruption within their own precinct.