In the Staffordshire village of Hawksmere, Clive Morrison is desperate to end his current failing relationship - especially as he has met someone else. When he returns home from seeing her and finds the police at his house, he can't believe what they tell him. A body has been found in his garden. When the postmortem confirms murder, he becomes the prime suspect.

But did he do it?

DI Vic Hardcastle and DS Stuart Young are assigned to the case, but they can't break Clive's alibi. Things become even more mysterious when his new partner dies in a frenzied attack at her home. Again, Clive's story is rock solid.

What is going on?

Then Clive is discovered, stabbed to death. Vic and Stuart are stunned.

Now it looks as though they are dealing with yet another motiveless murder.