As the shadow of World War II descends over Europe, Detective Inspector Thomas Lamb hunts for an elusive killer behind the veil of a seemingly charming English village.

In a rural Hampshire village, things have remained fairly quiet despite the war. Then an elderly loner is brutally murdered, and the method of his killing bears the hallmarks of the traditional vanquishing of a witch. A young woman who is carrying the illegitimate child of a fighter pilot also is violently killed; a local drunkard's head is bashed in. Are the cases connected? As the Germans continue their relentless attack, Detective Inspector Thomas Lamb hunts for an elusive killer.