Visitors have long been drawn to the beauty and serenity of the Yorkshire countryside. Some never leave--like the hiker whose decomposing corpse is discovered in a wooded valley outside the tiny village of Swainshead.

This is the second homicide to plague the region in recent years, and it is pulling investigating Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks into a dangerous mire of dark pasts, local power, and private shame. The truth is shocking, and cold-blooded killers are waiting there. Banks is determined to walk into a valley of death to expose them both.