1969. A job in the Prison Service is not for everyone. The training is hard, the cells are dark and a thick skin is needed. But for Nell Lewis, helping prisoners is something she cares about deeply, and when she's promoted into a new post as governor of HMP Brackerley Edge in Yorkshire, she's tasked with transforming the renowned run-down facility into a modern, open prison for women. Just as Nell settling into her new role, one of their female inmates goes missing. A search across the county ensues, until a man's body is discovered in the prison grounds and the mystery takes a darker turn. Can Nell resolve the sinister events at Brackerley Edge, before anyone else is put in danger? From the bestselling author of the Kate Shackleton mysteries comes a new classic crime series set in 1960s Yorkshire and starring prison officer Nell Lewis. This is the perfect page-turner for fans of Jacqueline Winspear and Agatha Christie.

Yorkshire, 1969. Nell Lewis is four months into her new role as governor of HMP Brackerley when the prison takes on a catering contract for Brackerley village's wedding of the year. Almost all the female inmates are delighted to be involved in the celebrations, though Linda is desperate to avoid the event in case she is spotted, photographed, and once more appears on the front pages of the gutter press. During the wedding reception, one of the inmates discovers the father of the bride, Mr Chapin, stabbed to death behind the marquee. The murder shocks the close-knit village and police enlist Nell's help to solve the mystery. There are multiple suspects at the wedding, all with strong motives for wanting Mr Chaplain dead, but the prison workforce was closest to the scene of the crime . . .