Wycliffe's hope of a quiet weekend fishing is scotched after the body of elderly Lily Armitage is found in a freezer. The woman had failed to attend her sister's funeral, leading a friend to discover the body. Lily lived with Jane Rule and her son Clifford Rule but Clifford is now on the run. The police no sooner start their investigation than young Hilda Clemo disappears. She had just told her boyfriend that she was pregnant but he denies seeing her after they had a row. The Rules and the Clemos were related and Wycliffe is convinced the two incidents are somehow connected.
—garykmcd