The quiet confident atmosphere of Bredgar Chambers School is shattered by the discovery of the
body of one of its pupils in a country churchyard. Who murdered the brilliant boy and why? How
did his body get from the school to the distant churchyard? Why had he lied about his exeat
destination? Inspector Thomas Lynley and his partner Barbara Havers find their investigations
hampered by the code of honour and loyalty that prevail in the old and distinguished public
school. But they discover within the confines of that privileged community a culture of cruelty
that stretches back across the generations.
