Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley, the Eighth Earl of Asherton, has brought to Howenstow, his ancestral home, the young woman he has asked to be his bride But the savage murder of a local journalist soon becomes the catalyst for a lethal series of events which shatters the calm of the picturesque Cornish village, tearing apart powerful ties of love and friendship and exposing a long-buried family secret The resulting tragedy will forever alter the course of Thomas Lynley's life