In the midst of a heatwave in Gloucestershire, unseen hands slide the body of a young woman quietly into the waters of one of England’s great rivers under cover of darkness. It is some days before the corpse is discovered, and the police have first to identify the victim as Clare Mills and then try to build up a picture of her puzzling lifestyle. Lambert and Hook come up against the strangest mother of a murder victim they have ever encountered, whilst the girl’s stepfather refuses for a long time to offer them full cooperation. Then, just when it seems that a solution is at hand, more violence intervenes.