Called to Cornwall, Scotland Yard's Inspector Ian Rutledge investigates three suspicious deaths in the same prominent family. First, a crippled woman and her half-brother apparently commit suicide; then, another half-brother dies in an accidental fall. Not only does Rutledge's search expose well-hidden family skeletons and motives for murder, it also provides ample opportunity for input from the inner voice he has heard since returning from the trenches of World War I. Splendid imagery, in-depth characterization, and glimpses of more than one wounded psyche: an excellent historical mystery.