Meredith Mitchell is delighted when an old friend, Toby Smythe, turns up, but it's not just a friendly visit: he needs the help of Meredith's fiancé, Detective Superintendent Alan Markby. Years earlier Alison, the wife of Toby's cousin Jeremy, was acquitted of the murder of her aunt. Now, she's receiving anonymous hate mail about the case. Who is the writer, and how does he or she know about this secret in Alison's past? Markby's is reluctant to become involved, not least because Toby is hardly his favourite person. Besides, he and Meredith are planning their wedding, and distractions aren't welcome. It takes en entirely contemporary murder to persuade him to dig deeper. With the help of Inspector Jessica Campbell, a new member of Markby's team, and the non-professional but enthusiastic help of Meredith and Toby, the investigation unravels a twenty-five-year-old mystery and its dreadful legacy of violence.