When a long-serving master at one of England's leading public schools is found drowned in Bassenthwaite Lake, Detective Inspector Skelgill is called in to investigate his apparent suicide. It soon becomes clear that senior members of staff are not all that they seem, and - while the school closes ranks - that Skelgill is scratching at the surface of a secretive power struggle for control of its highly lucrative operation. A second violent suicide promises to throw the police off the scent, and the sudden mysterious disappearance of a VIP pupil threatens to cause panic in their ranks. In a race against time, Skelgill must piece together the clues, or face the unthinkable consequences of a third tragic death on his watch.