As the editor of a popular left-wing tabloid, Dennis Luxford has made a career out of exposing scandal and destroying reputations. When he is offered the chance of breaking another government 'sleaze' story and boosting the circulation of his paper still further his hesitation seems inexplicable. But at the heart of this particular scoop lies the kidnapping of a ten-year old girl: Luxford's daughter.

To save the life of his first-born child, whom he has never even seen, Luxford must reveal the details of his brief affair with the child's mother on the front page of his newspaper. But this liaison was no ordinary one-night stand. For the woman involved is Eve Bowen, now the Under Secretary of State for the Home Office. And even when it becomes clear that her daughter Charlotte is missing, Eve refuses to involve the police, insisting that her child's diappearance is simply a ploy, however despicable, by Luxford to bring down the Tory government.

It is only when events escalate to unbearable heights that New Scotland Yard, in the guise of Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and his partner Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, are brought in. And as their investigations move from the heart of parlimentary London to rural Wiltshire, both Lynley and Havers discover that treachery and betrayal lie perilously close to home.