In Somerset it is carnival season once more, but Alex Hastings is not in the mood to join the festivities. Struck down by a potentially lethal illness, she is beset by problems both at workand within her family. Meanwhile, the demise of Derek Johns gang has left a power vacuum, and an uneasy alliance of criminals forms, determined to take control of the area for their own gain. Then, one night out on the marshes a local man is found dead amidst reports of flickering lights and strange music and rumours grow of the return of an ancient evil. This second book in the Alex Hastings series picks up the story six weeks after the finale to Death of the Elver Man, leading Alex and her friends further into the mystery and menace surrounding the Somerset Levels.