The key to unlocking a series of murders in 1920s' Worcestershire lies in South Africa - and a devastating 20-year-old secret February, 1927. The remains of an unidentified middle-aged man are found beneath the snow in the grounds of Maxtead Court, home of the wealthy Scroope family. Meanwhile, Margaret Rees-Talbot is preparing for her wedding to the Rev Symon Scroope - to the disapproval of some residents of the small market town of Folbury, who think it's too soon after the death of Margaret's father Osbert, found drowned in his bath a few months previously. An accident - or was there more to it than that? Before he died, Osbert had been writing an account of his experiences as a soldier during the Second Boer War. But what really happened in South Africa back in 1902? Could there be a connection to his death? Then a second death occurs. And it becomes increasingly clear to the investigating DI Herbert Reardon that at least one Folbury resident has a shocking secret to hide.