Just when everyone thought it was safe to return to the hospital wards at Kilminster Hospital in the west of England, misanthropist and curmudgeon Dr. Brian Standish is in prison for suspected homicide. Earlier, Brian, a hematologist at the hospital, was embroiled in a series of savage murders that were solved. Or were they?
Now, Brian's veterinarian brother-in-law is enmeshed in an insidious smuggling operation involving horse semen. Even worse, he's entangled Brian in his financial quagmire and the world of organized crime as the kill rate once again soars in Kilminster and buried corpses keep popping up.
Is another madman or madwoman on the loose? Is a conspiracy afoot? Can Brian's diaries help solve who's behind the mayhem and murder?
One thing is certain: Dr. Brian Standish is again at the heart of death and duplicity in a seemingly tranquil town.