Wexford finds he is dealing with a very nasty case when nature-loving Elizabeth Nightingale is murdered on one of her nightly walks through the woods around Myfleet Manor.

Angela Hathall is murdered, but Wexford can find no motive and no suspect. Maybe she picked up a stranger who killed her?The line Wexford follows alienates not just his colleagues, including Mike Burden, but his wife, too.