When the nine-year-old daughter of a prominent Droitwich businessman disappears without a trace whilst on a visit to a local churchyard, Detective Inspector Ravenscroft and his colleague, Constable Tom Crabb are called upon to investigate. In a seemingly unconnected incident Ravenscroft’s wife, Lucy, is asked by a distraught mother to find the baby that she’d been compelled to give away. As the investigations proceed, both Ravenscroft and Lucy encounter the darkened world of Victorian child exploitation: where lies, deceit and murder are commonplace and they are stuck in a desperate race against time to save the endangered children. This is the fifth title in the highly entertaining Inspector Ravenscroft series.