'I went out earlier than usual because of the Spring tide,' said the old man. 'The water was unusually high and rose above the grassy bank beside the shore. It was a breathtaking morning, beautiful, mysterious, with the pinkish dawn light playing through the sea fog. 'As I rounded the point I saw her, rising out of the mist. At first I couldn't believe my eyes for, God forgive me, I thought she was walking on water. "You'll get your death of cold," I shouted, joking.' But it was only when John Spain stretched out his hand to her that he noticed the rope and saw with dismay that she'd been propped upright and lashed to a tree. Her name was Evangeline Walter - one of the many incomers who had bought houses on an estuary on the southwest coast of Ireland. Apparently single, nobody knew much about her. But who precisely was Evangeline? Where did she come from? And, more importantly, who wanted her dead?