Sally Barton, a lively thirty-something Yorkshire ex-patriot, has long settled into her niche as an assistant librarian in the University of West Lancashire. She had found a life for herself in Ormsbury when a new member of staff, Ralph Armstrong, an English lecturer, brings a breath of fresh Yorkshire air into her life. After an initial disagreement, she finds that her expertise in her hobby of family history is required to help solve the mystery surrounding Ralph's background, a mystery that has been bugging him and which needs solving before he can move on. Family history questions take time to unravel as they involve delving deep into documents and mythology, but eventually the mystery, which involves a crime, murder and some disturbing revelations, is finally solved. Working together with humour and understanding, Sally and Ralph find that the quest develops into a relationship neither had been expecting and together they face many problems before the conclusion.