This is the new DCI Neil Paget mystery. Holbrook Micro-Engineering Labs is owned jointly by Simon and Laura Holbrook. When Laura Holbrook is brutally murdered one evening while her husband, Simon, a confirmed womanizer, is supposedly out with a male friend, and with little more than a few dog hairs as evidence at the scene, it is believed that Laura was killed by two burglars known for their violence. But that theory is all but abandoned by DCI Paget and DS Tregalles when suspicion falls on several different potential suspects: Simon's nephew, Tim Bryce, recently sacked by Laura; Moira Ballantyne, recently accused by Laura of having an affair with Simon; Susan Chase, Laura's sister, who hated Laura for taking Simon away from her; and Peggy Goodwin, Simon's PA, who resented being pushed aside when Laura came into the firm. It is up to Paget and Tregalles to try to find the true killer.