A disturbing story of twisted passions and sensual extremes. Mid-winter. In the chilled beauty of the Monmouthshire countryside a frozen body hangs from a tree in a remote field. Suicide? Detective Sergeant Melanie Challis finds that searching for answers leads her to a country house that proves to be a venue for those addicted to extremes of the senses. Days later, two brutal murders, one local, the other over a hundred miles away, bring two police forces together in a parallel investigation that witnesses tragedies piled one upon another. Challis finds she is faced with a hunt for an unlikely killer where victims and motives are characterised by the base needs of humankind. Her own past secrets are in danger of being exposed as a former lover becomes involved in the case.