In the quiet Sussex country town of Kingsmarkham,the daughter of Nigerian physician Raymond Akandeis missing. It's probably nothing, says Dr. Akande to his friend and client ChiefInspector Wexford, whose help he enlists.But the days that follow prove the doctordreadfully wrong. A young woman is foundmurdered not Melanie, but the last person to have seen andspoken to her. A second woman's body is discovered,again not Melanie's, but like her, young andblack. A third woman turns up beaten and unconscious;like the others, she is of Nigerian origin. AsInspector Wexford's investigation stretches fromdays into weeks, it becomes his unhappy obligation tocounter the hopes of the doctor and his wife. InWexford's professional opinion, Melanie, like theother young women, has become the victim of aserial killer with a horrifyingly singular objective.From the Paperback edition.