Newtown Woods has always had a sinister reputation. Throughout the centuries, highwaymen have terrorised travellers, gangsters have dumped their victims' bodies in shallow graves, unwanted babies have been buried there and children have disappeared. Now, another child has disappeared. Twelve-year-old schoolgirl, Freda de Lisle, has been missing for twenty-four hours...Lennox Kemp's wife, Mary, is expecting their first child and Kemp is initially reluctant to become too involved in the case. But the tragedy of a missing child affects everyone and the townsfolk become slowly poisoned by suspicion and anger, where everyday events take on a strange and sinister relevance. When a body is found, the case narrows down to a murder hunt, but the whole community must continue to endure media attention and police intrusion - particularly young Lillian Egerton, who has recently been diagnosed as a sufferer of multiple personality syndrome...