Publisher's Synopsis
Searching for truffles in a wood, a man and his dog unearth a human hand and Chief Inspector Wexford is informed that the body has lain buried for ten years, wrapped in a purple shroud. The cause of death is unknown, but there is a crack on one of the dead man's ribs. The missing persons list is a long one: men, women and children disappear at the rate of 500 every day nationwide. Identifying the corpse will not be easy. And then, twenty yards from the woodland burial site, in the cellar of a disused cottage, another body is found. Wexford, Burden and the other officers of the investigating team of Kingsmarkham Police Force are tested to their utmost to find whoever is responsible.
