A cold case, a guilty conscience, and four determined detectives . . .



When children Josh and Dilys find a body in the woods on the outskirts of their small Cotswold village, they are too terrified to report it. But when, as adults, Josh discovers that his sister has kept a memento—the victim's charm bracelet—he feels compelled to share the secret.



When Josh unburdens himself to retired superintendent Alan Markby, his instincts tell him that this is linked to a missing person, a case long grown cold. The missing girl was last seen in the region currently under the jurisdiction of Superintendent Ian Carter and Inspector Jess Campbell. Joining forces, Markby and wife Meredith come out of retirement to hunt down the killer with Campbell and Carter, a murderer who by now must be safe in the knowledge that they've got away with it . . .