Bathed in sweat from the same nightmare that haunted her dreams these last six months, Katherine Lambert rolled over, switched on the bedside lamp, and peered at the clock before reaching for the small-framed photograph on her nightstand. After a few minutes of staring at the image, she wiped away a tear. Today was the day.

Detective Chief Inspector Kate Lambert had purposely chosen this day to resign from her twenty-year career with the MET. Today was to have been her wedding day until the murder of her fellow officer and fiancée in a botched hit ended her dreams. Kate was the target of the hit meant to end her investigation into the notorious crime boss, Victor Smolenski, until her partner pushed her to the ground saving her life and sacrificing his own.

Reeling from her fiancée's death, Kate is leaving the force and London behind to seek a more idyllic life in rural Devon. Hoping to gain some inspiration for her new career in writing, Kate books a stay at Agatha Christie's summer retreat, Greenway, before searching for her new Devon home. After discovering a decomposing body in the ruins of the bathhouse at Elberry Cove, her plans for a relaxing weekend visit abruptly end.

Suddenly, Kate's plans for retirement are put on hold when she discovers the victim's murder has ties to the man responsible for her fiancee's death.