Two violent deaths shatter a small community. And to solve the case, Wycliffe must untangle a complex network of secrecy within the quiet of Paul's Court . . .

Paul's Court is a quiet corner in the heart of the city: an oasis of peace and safety until the night when two of its inhabitants meet violent deaths. Old Willy Goppel, a German who specialised in making period doll's houses, is found hanging from a beam in his home; and fifteen-year-old Yvette Cole, with a wild reputation, is strangled and thrown half-naked over the churchyard hedge.

Chief Superintendent Wycliffe has the aid of a local detective, Kersey, but even in co-operation they find this a difficult case to crack. Was Willy's death really a suicide? Or could it be that the two deaths are unconnected? As the investigation continues, they uncover a complex network of antagonisms in quiet Paul's Court.