Demolition work came to a temporary and abrupt standstill on the Henderson's old house with the gruesome discovery of a woman's body in one of the derelict outhouses.

Local interest soon began to wane when it transpired the body had been there for almost thirty years and not more recently, to a time when most people could relate, but in a matter of days this was to change, as a succession of unexplained deaths occurred, each of them having some connection with the first murder.

Calder Bay, a seaside town on the north-east coast of Scotland, found itself in the media spotlight; to some this was a source of excitement and acted as a stimulus to fuel the rumours which were quick to circulate, but to members of the Henderson family in particular, such public exposure was viewed with distaste and in some cases nervousness. Not only did they have to contend with the strong element of antagonism amongst their ex-employees in the town following the collapse of their business, and the subsequent loss of "Carbisdale", the house which had belonged to their family for generations, now, their shaky reputation had become tainted with that of murder.

Detective Inspector David McIntyre was assigned to the investigation, together with Inspector Howard Crawford, and from the first day it became clear this was not going to be a straightforward murder enquiry. There was no shortage of suspects and even when these were whittled down, the motive for all the deaths continued to elude them until a final twist in events gave them the answer they needed.