Upon arrival at a remote cottage in the Northumberland countryside, Rachael, part of a three-woman team of scientists hired to study the environmental impact of a quarry to be built nearby, discovers the body of Bella, a local landowner and good friend, apparently dead from suicide. Though the women begin their land surveys as planned, Rachael spends her downtime investigating Bella's past, unwilling to accept the cause of death. When one of Rachael's colleagues winds up dead, and the unconventional and irascible Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope enters the picture, all sorts of elicit liaisons, long-held secrets, and hidden identities begin to come to light. Told from alternating points of view and rich with atmospheric details, this first installment of Ann Cleeves's Vera Stanhope series is a wonderfully satisfying mystery with an ending you won't see coming!