The village of East Welham has never recovered from the day when two of its inhabitants were brutally murdered on the common nearly fifteen years ago. The deaths of the young woman, Sarah Ford, and her six-year-old daughter, Alice, have left jagged scars in the collective memories of those who remain there, not least Julia Havilland.
Julia has been suspended from her job in military intelligence after the death of an informer in China. When the East Welham murderer is released on appeal, the deaths float uneasily to the surface once more. For Julia the case has a curious resonance. Soon after the murder her father and his regiment were dispatched to the Falkland Island, but he never came back. Returning to the village, her military career under investigation, Julia begins to probe the murders, and discovers that even from beyond the grave the past can exert a stranglehold on the present . . .
