1919. The Derbyshire village of Wenfield is still coming to terms with the loss of so many of its sons, when the brutal murder of a young girl shatters its hard-won tranquillity. Myrtle Bligh is found stabbed, her mouth slit to accommodate a dead dove. During the war Myrtle volunteered as a nurse, working at the nearby big house, Tarnhey Court. When two more women are found murdered, Inspector Albert Lincoln is sent up from London. Albert begins to investigate and the Cartwright family of Tarnhey Court and their staff fall under suspicion. With rumours of a ghostly soldier, the village is thrown into a state of panic – and with the killer still on the loose, who will be next?