Abbeyford, in the West Country of England, is supposed to be a safe and pleasant place to live. But no fewer than four young women have gone missing in the past few years and now another, nineteen-year-old art student Mae Denton, has disappeared.
DI Kate Redman is eager to tie up any loose ends before she goes on maternity leave. But as the case unfolds, a straightforward disappearance becomes more complicated. Who was the mysterious man whom Mae was apparently seeing, and do her friends know more than they are telling? Has she vanished for her own reasons? And who, if anyone, can Kate and her team trust?