It is barely three months since the murder of his wife & Thomas Lynley takes to the South-West Coast Path, determined to walk its length in an attempt to distract himself from his loss. On the 43rd day of this walk, he sees a cliff climber fall to his death - a death apparently witnessed by a surfer in a nearby cove. The case brings Barabara Havers from London and thrusts both detectives into the rugged beauty of out-of-season Cornwall, with its community of surfers and hoteliers. But the wild landscape is a scene of jealousy, betrayal and revenge and Lynley and Havers must sift through these emotions in their search for the killer.