Returning from London to Bamford in the evening, Meredith Mitchell noticed a young girl on the side of the road with a backpack over her shoulders. Leaving the traveler alone on a deserted road would be cruel, and Meredith decided to give her a lift to the city. The fellow traveler reluctantly revealed that she was heading to Tudor Lodge, the home of a successful high-ranking official, Penhollow. Something in the girl’s command alarmed Meredith, and the next morning her suspicions were justified: Andrew Penhollow was found dead. Meredith's friend, experienced detective Alan Markby, has been entrusted with the investigation...