October 1861 England. Harriet and Matthew Rowsley the housekeeper and estate manager of Thorncroft House in Shropshire have to cut short their successful trip to Oxford when they receive a telegraph: a decapitated and mutilated body has been found on the estate. While trying to help the strangely slow police investigation the couple face an unsettling threat to their livelihood: after years of searching a legitimate heir of Thorncroft estate has been found! They find themselves hosting an American gentleman whose charm doesn't quite conceal his alarming plans for the future of the estate and all its inhabitants. Falsely imprisoned and forced to be silent about the identity of the murdered man Harriet not only has to confront her past but also share a secret of her own that could change her and her loved ones' lives forever . . .

Part of the Matthew Rowsley series.