A lump of concrete dropped deliberately from a little stone bridge over a relatively unfrequented road kills the wrong person. The driver behind is spared. But only for a while... It is impossible for Chief Inspector Wexford not to wonder how terrible it would be to discover that one of his daughters had been murdered. Sylvia has always been a cause for concern. Living alone with her two children, she is pregnant again. What will happen to the child? The relationship between father & daughter has always been uneasy. But the current situation also provokes an emotional division between Wexford & his wife, Dora. One particular member of the local press is gunning for the Chief Inspector, distinctly unimpressed with what he regards as old-fashioned police methods. But Wexford, with his old friend & partner, Mike Burden, along with two new recruits to the Kingsmarkham team, pursue their inquiries with a diligence & humanity that make Ruth Rendell's detective stories enthralling, exciting & very touching.