<p>When the body of Nicola Maiden, the daughter of a retired Scotland Yard undercover officer, is found near an unidentified body in the middle of a pre-historic stone circle in Derbyshire, the newly married Inspector Lynley is asked to lead the investigation into the deaths.<br><br>Lynley must get to the bottom of the crime without the assistance of his long-time partner Sergeant Barbara Havers following her demotion as a result of an internal investigation. <br><br>But Barbara Havers has plans of her own, and they involve the very case that Lynley is working on . . .</p>