The brutal murder of a promiscuous young wife and the disappearance of her baby son bring Superintendent Amos Hawke and Sergeant Tom Churchyard to a tiny moorland village in nineteenth-century Cornwall, where the residents harbour dark secrets. The two policemen believe the murderer will be found within the isolated and insular community, but unravelling the tangled web of lies and deceit proves frustrating. Is the answer to the mystery held by the young gypsy girl whose appearance on the scene has disturbing ramifications for Tom Churchyard?