dci michael campion is new to the charming wiltshire country-side having spent his life in london. he and his team investigate the murder of a young woman in the old village of st aethelstan. it is a strange, ancient village set along a shallow river. its villagers are welcoming and the pub feels like a home from home, the ancient church still in catholic hands. the old church should be protestant, yet they fought both cromwells and won, the victories wiped from history. but, this peaceful village has more than the usual ancient mysteries. the murder is straight-forward, the culprit soon caught and yet michael cannot escape this mysterious village lost in time. then come the worldwide plagues, but not in this village which feels so comforting. what is the ancient oak standing proud in the middle of the wood, and why does it offer michael comfort, and why must he seek to be reborn every year at the night of the winds