Lieutenant Jonathan Stride has never forgotten the case that made him join the police force. Back in the 1970s, Laura - sister of Stride's girlfriend - was murdered. The obvious suspect was a vagrant. Now, though, Stride's looking at the case in a new light. Tish Verdure, an old friend of Laura's is certain that the killer was a local boy, now an attorney with connections at the highest level. Stride is soon convinced there was a deliberate decision to direct the investigation away from Tish's suggested perpetrator: but he's also convinced that Tish is hiding a secret about the past.