A trip to a wintery island in the English Channel spells peril for forensic scientist Simon St. James and his wife, Deborah, when they discover that the legacy of World War II still haunts the isle's inhabitants.

When a Member of Parliament shows up at New Scotland Yard requesting an investigation into the suicide of the son of one of his constituents in the beautiful town of Ludlow, the Assistant Commissioner sees two opportunities in this request: the first is to have an MP owing him a favour, and the second is to get rid of Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, whose career at the Met has been hanging by a thread for quite some time. So he assigns Havers to...