The death of a brilliant young scientist in the department of chemistry at Cambridge shocks both the university and the town. As the police scramble to investigate, Gillian Adams, in Cambridge for the summer, finds herself in the midst of the enquiry. Adams, a historian from Canada, is both linked to the victim by old friends and to the Cambridge police by her affair with Scotland Yard detective chief inspector Edward Gisborne. Venomous professional rivalries and a clandestine affair are only two of the possible explanations for the murder. When a second body turns up there appears to be no connection. Yet everybody knows that if the two deaths can be tied, the thread will lead to the murderer. In this compelling story, Nora Kelly, author of In The Shadow of King's, takes a new look at 'town and gown', showing us a Cambridge in which science, contemporary mores and old traditions produce a volatile mix.