The lover of the grave

After the coldest night of the year a sheep farmer is found hanging from a tree at a crossroads outside the market town of Lydmouth. He is wearing handcuffs and his legs are bound, with his trousers round his ankles. Suicide seems the obvious conclusion, or is it accidental death resulting from some bizarre sexual practice?

Journalist Jill Francis and Detective Inspector Thornhill become involved in the case in separate ways and decide to delve into the farmer's murky family history together. Jill is also drawn unwillingly into the affairs of the small public school where the dead man taught. Meanwhile a Peeping Tom is preying upon Lydmouth; Jill has just moved into her own house and is afraid she is being watched. And there are more distractions, on a personal level, for both policeman and reporter.