December 1864. As a cold winter wind scours the Worcestershire countryside,an excursion train comes through a tunnel in the Malvern Hills to be confrontedby a blockage on the line ahead. The driver manages to slow the train down sothat the impact is minimised, but the passengers are alarmed. The first personto alight is Cyril Hubbleday, the man in charge of the excursion to the delightfulspa town of Great Malvern. He walks to the front of the locomotive and as he istalking to the driver, fireman and guard, Hubbleday is shot dead by a sniper.Christmas is coming all too soon and Inspector Robert Colbeck and SergeantVictor Leeming are under pressure to solve the case quickly. However, with anumber of disputes and enemies in the shadows behind the seasonalexcursion and the investigation hampered by heavy snow, the hunt for a coldbloodedkiller is far from straightforward.