The Boathouse, in scenic Cumbria, is inherited by Sophie Daynes, who cherishes it for its family associations. Her bore of a husband, in his forties and obsessed by his mistress, covets it for its cash value. Husband, wife, and lover all have their champions. Meanwhile up in the woods lives a man in a caravan. Gossip maintains he is a villain from Manchester forced to lie low. Gossip, greed, and passion are exacerbated in high summer when the pleasure steamer churns up more than mud from the lake floor and a terrible package is revealed, changing the lives of all connected with the boathouse.

Genre: Mystery