Dalgliesh is recovering from a life-threatening illness when his elderly friend Father Baddeley reaches out for advice. By the time he can respond, Father Baddeley is dead. And his is not the first recent death at the Dorset home for the disabled where he worked.

Dalgliesh feels he must try to understand these deaths, even without official jurisdiction or support, but amid the growing suspicion of the residents, he can't be sure either of them was murder. Until another body is found - and Dalgliesh suddenly finds himself in very grave danger.