At a New Year’s Eve party in their hotel in Frecklemarsh, the guests can sense an uneasy tension between their hosts, Oliver and his second wife Nancy Pendrick. Growing resentment in their marriage, caused by Nancy’s independence and commitment to her London-based catering business, is evident in the fraught family relationships which extends to two wilful stepchildren. To add fuel to the fire, old flames are returning to the sleepy village. Memories of Oliver’s first wife, the beautiful yet troubled Avis, refuse to fade and gossip flies around the small community. When a female corpse is discovered on a lonely road in Chedbury and eventually identified as Mrs Pendrick, there is universal shock, horror and multiple unanswered questions. With all the guests at the New Year’s Eve party potential suspects, CID Webb has his work cut out to track down the killer, and when he fits the pieces of the puzzle together, it forms a picture he would never have expected to see…