DI Ben Kitto needs a second chance. After ten years working for the murder squad in London a traumatic event has left him grief-stricken. His boss has persuaded him to take three months' leave and Ben plans to work in his uncle Ray's boatyard on the tiny Scilly island of Bryher where he was born. His plans go awry when the body of sixteen-year-old Laura Trescothick is found on the beach at Hell Bay. No ferries have sailed during a two-day storm so her attacker must still be on the island. Dark secrets are about to resurface. And the murderer could strike again at any time.