Norfolk, January 1953, and in the aftermath of the Great Storm which left many towns and villages flooded, ex-detective John Lubbock and his friend and protege Chief Inspector Mike Tench find themselves investigating a double murder. Valerie Kingham has been found naked in a dinghy, a bullet hole in her forehead, and a couple of days later her husband is discovered dead at the foot of an old tower. It appears to be a case of murder and suicide but then the pathologist's report reveals that prior to his death, Kingham had been bound and gagged. There is no shortage of suspects - Valerie Kingham was having an affair with a local man, Giles Meredith, whose own wife had admitted to wanting to kill Valerie. Then there was the mysterious incident revolving around Kingham's career in India prior to his arrival in Norfolk, where he was charged with the murder of a Hindu servant. Could there be a militant Hindu group bent on avenging the death of one of their own? The case seems to have stalled until Lubbock, using his immense local knowledge, uncovers a new witness who gives Tench the one piece of crucial evidence he needs and the truth, when it finally emerges, is very different from what Lubbock and Tench expect it to be.