Looking for a new subject for her popular series on local family businesses, Rona is pleased when her friend Georgia offers to engineer an introduction to Julian Willow, of the long-standing furniture emporium. Julian and his wife Felicity welcome Rona's interest and offer her all the help she needs to write her article. Unusually, given Rona's propensity for uncovering dark secrets, there seem to be no skeletons in the Willow family cupboards.But this time it seems there may be a mystery closer to home. Rona's new neighbours, an elderly couple with a daughter, are unnervingly reserved and uncommunicative. When the young woman, Louise, comes to Rona with a plea for help, all her journalistic instincts are aroused. Against her better judgement - and husband Max' advice - Rona is once again drawn into a complex and disturbing sequence of events.