Life seems perfect in Valley Farm, a quiet
community in Northumberland. Then a shocking discovery shatters the
silence. The owners of a big country house have employed a house-sitter,
a young ecologist named Patrick, to look after the place while they're
away. But Patrick is found dead by the side of the lane into the valley -
a beautiful, lonely place to die.
DI Vera Stanhope arrives on
the scene, with her detectives Holly and Joe. When they look round the
attic of the big house - where Patrick has a flat - she finds the body
of a second man. All the two victims have in common is a fascination
with moths - catching these beautiful, rare creatures.
The three
couples who live in the Valley Farm development have secrets too: Annie
and Sam's daughter is due to be released from prison any day; Nigel
watches, silently, every day, from his window. As Vera is drawn into the
claustrophobic world of this increasingly strange community, she
realizes that there may be deadly secrets trapped here . . .