When the quiet community of Ellington Close in the English country town of Lavenstock is disrupted by murder, DI Abigail Moon is assigned to probe into the mysterious death. The victim, a man fond lying face down in the dirt in a town allotment, has nothing in his possession to indicate his identity but a set of car keys and a few Belgian francs. When another murder occurs, Superintendent Gil Mayo finds himself personally involved with Moon in the investigation—and the residents of the town do not welcome the intrusion, and do little to help with their inquiries.

Mayo and Moon soon find themselves in the thick of an investigation into the lives of the odd residents of Ellington Close. Do the eccentric Kendrick twins have something to hide? The recently widowed Dermott Voss and his children? Or the countless other quirky residents? As Mayo and Moon search for these answers they realize that the two murders are inextricably connected and that they must race to uncover the unknown terror that is lurking in the shadows of the quiet backwater town before it strikes again.