With the framework of her own world beginning to crack, Merrily must venture into areas of mystery and menace; the secrets of the border's pagan past...

'Ancient history, violent deaths, feuds, intrigues and murder. A most original sleuth.' - The Times

'What I remember most was the sound of his breath. A hollow sound, as though he was drawing breath from somewhere else. Afterwards, he just said goodnight. I don't think he even remembered my name.'

Hereford is home to the elite warriors of the SAS. The place where their secrets are hidden . . . secrets that go well beyond pain and can wreck marriages and private lives. When Merrily Watkins loses a friend in the regiment, she's drawn into a place where no woman is welcome, to investigate profound mysteries linked to the area's brutal pagan past.