Threatened by anonymous letters that link him to the drowning of an out-of-work actress, Sir Paul Berowne has resigned from the government, quarrelled with his family, and taken refuge in a seedy London church.

The bizarre death of Sir Paul Berowne has brought his family's problem out into the open as Dalgliesh questions the household to try and determine whether it was murder or suicide.

The death of Theresa Nolan, a nurse in the Berowne household, causes Dalgliesh's investigations to move closer to the family. Berowne's mother, Lady Ursula, now chooses to reveal a secret which she has been keeping for her son.