 Labarde (a second generation French Basque recently returned from the war in Europe), and Tom Hollis (a recently divorced former New York police detective posted to the area after his attempt to expose corruption resulted in the death of a colleague), are drawn to investigate Lillian's death, even though it appears to have been a tragic accident.They both have their own separate reasons to suspect that there is more to the death than meets the eye, and that it may have been the result of foul play.The novel won the Crime Writers' Association Award for Best Crime Novel by a Debut Author.