Two people come drifting into the prosperous and growing town of Deerham Hills, forty miles from London. One, already dead and in the river, is an unidentified woman: the other, also faceless, is a hater of women and a murderer. 'It's a classic,' says Sergeant Charmian Daniels of the Deerham Hills Police about this eerie and terrifying case: a case which builds up a momentum that all but engulfs Charmian herself and her career.