Spring 1918 and Great Britain is still at war with Germany. Stylish lady detective, Miss Isabel Hewitt, is approached by a Mrs Avis Willow. Isabel's lawyer friend, Hugh Bernard, has recommended her to this lady. Avis' son, 2nd Lieutenant Billy Willow has been arrested for the murder of a 10 year old girl, Alice Magwood, down in the village of Chandlers Fork.

Billy has been badly injured at Ypres and was the sole survivor when his platoon was attacked. The villagers blame him for the deaths of three other young men from their village. Billy is badly affected by shell shock and suffers from seizures. On the afternoon of the murder he cannot remember where he was. He was seen by the local Squire in Chandlers Chase, where the girl's body was found.

Mrs Willow believes her son is innocent and asks Isabel to look into it. Isabel agrees and travels down to the village, with Clarke and her friend Elvira Stone. She takes her pet pug Pastry with her. But once in Chandlers Fork, she find the locals are hostile and Alice Magwood's father warns her off. But Isabel persists and begins a systematic investigation.

It isn't long before she unearths clues that lead her into danger and a web of lies. There is a dark secret at the heart of the case but one which she must use all her ingenuity to expose.