Two men lie in a welter of blood in the vestry of St Matthew's Church, Paddington. Their throats have been brutally slashed. One is Sir Paul Berowne, a recently-resigned government minister; the other is a homeless man known only as a local alcoholic.

Their deaths will be the first case for Commander Dalgliesh's new team, who have been tasked with investigating crimes of particular sensitivity. But as the Berowne family's veneer of prosperous gentility begins to crack and Dalgliesh uncovers more about the dead men, he struggles to keep his customary objectivity. Can he get to the bottom of the ugly and dangerous secrets swirling this case in time to prevent yet another death?