Thea Slocombe is tired of having to entertain Drew’s children through the long summer holiday while he works, so keenly accepts a commission to watch over a house in Barnsley. However, her return to house-sitting is far from relaxing as on her first night she finds a fugitive woman hiding among some bushes. The woman’s story is thin and incoherent, but Thea agrees to offer her sanctuary for the night.

When the woman is found dead the next morning Thea turns to the police for help, but their preoccupation with a major animal trafficking investigation means she is effectively on her own. As she digs deeper into the dead woman’s background, she discovers a tangled web of lies, secrets and at least three very likely suspects …