When a man breaks into Mollie Chambers' house she tells the police that she has never seen him before. Ex-DI Alec Friedman, her honorary nephew, isn't so sure. Mollie has lived an eventful life, as the wife of a diplomat, and he knows she is still haunted by the horrors of more than one war. Alec and his blind wife, Naomi, want to help, but prickly Mollie is a private person, and he and Naomi have their own pressing issues: now that Alec has resigned...

In an effort to escape the stresses of work, Alec and Naomi take a winter holiday in Somerset. There they encounter local eccentric Eddy Thame and when soon after their arrival, Eddy is found dead. Reluctantly, Alec and Naomi become involved and soon realise that Eddy was very different from the dotty individual they met in the pub.