The Whitby Trilogy, of which Pearl is Part 2, traces the life and times (over one hundred years) of a family of butchers. Eugene, Part 1, was born in 1927 and aged eighteen was sent to Burma in the closing months of the Japanese campaign. As an old man he befriended Pearl (this book title) who recorded his life story, prepared the Whitby family tree and set out to disprove allegations of murder and corruption. Concurrently, the soul of a policeman who worked on the original missing persons' case, can only rest once Eugene's guilt is proved.The two conflicting enquiries clash in a devastating denouement. With no bodies and no DNA, the task seems impossible but given the will and human ingenuity spliced with old skills and new technology, there is hope. The story of Pearl is haunted by a shadowy figure featured throughout Part 1 of the trilogy.