I'm going to tell you a story. It should come out, now that I am dying. And you look like just the person to blow the lid off an unsolved crime. A case which has been shelved for years . . .

Three weeks after the climactic events of The Japson Club, Anna is back in her Sussex cottage, trying to get on with her life. But it's not easy. Not only is she having recurring nightmares, but Andrew is uncharacteristically jumpy, Mateus is acting oddly, and Damien wants her back. She has to get away.

So when she's offered a job in the Channel Islands-sunshine, secluded beaches, and quaint Gallic charm-she jumps at it. Surely, if her troubles are across the sea, she can leave them all behind?

But in the wilds of Derbyshire, a gimlet-eyed old lady is ready to tell her tale, and Anna's problems are far from over.

Horror and heartbreak have a tight grip . . .