In this post-WWII crime thriller, a detective searches for a serial
killer who's made a hunting ground of the English Fenlands.
Det. Inspector Ivan Winterman has had more than his share of troubles.
The Blitz left his young son dead and his wife seriously injured. Having
made enemies in high places, his career is going nowhere. Now he's back
in his coastal hometown of East Anglia, England--a part of the country
gripped by post-war austerity and the coldest winter on record--hoping
to rebuild his life.
As the first snow begins to fall, a drunken ex-clergyman stumbles on the
semi-mummified body of a small child concealed in a ruined cottage. Days
later, another child's body is found in a Fenland dyke. Both bodies have
been dead for years, preserved in the Fens, the cause of death unknown.
Leading the investigation, Winterman uncovers a web of secrets in the
small rural community--secrets that are darker and more dangerous than
any he'd ever envisaged.