Deserted for years, an historically significant house is coveted by a number of people: a yuppie couple looking for a country home to restore, a local builder and his estate agent partner looking for development rights, and a conservationist. The owner is anxious to sell, but when a couple of deaths occur in the vicinity, things come to a halt while Inspector Barnaby investigates.
When a romantic getaway to Paris takes a dark turn with the sudden disappearance of her boyfriend Tom aboard a train to the south of France, Alice is plunged into a web of intrigue and danger, uncovering shocking secrets about the man she thought she knew