When the bizarrely mutilated body of a young woman is found near the tiny isolated Norfolk village of Manham, it isn't just the fact that she was a friend that disturbs Dr David Hunter. A one-time high-profile forensic anthropologist, he was once all too familiar with the different faces of death, until a devastating personal tragedy made him abandon his former life and career.

Now hidden away as a country doctor, Hunter had hoped his past would remain buried. So when he's asked to use his arcane skills to help track down the killer, he's reluctant to become involved. He knows to do so will only stir up the painful memories he's been trying so hard to forget. But then another woman disappears, plunging Manham into a maelstrom of fear and paranoia where no one, not even Hunter, is exempt from suspicion. As the once peaceful community begins to tear itself apart, he knows he will need all his knowledge and expertise if the twisted killer is to be stopped...