Although feeling unwell, Alice Whittaker decides to try and find her friend Nesta Drage, who had planned to leave the village but has now dropped out of sight. She manages to trace her to an address in Brighton but when she gets there, finds it to be a rundown hotel that seems to rent most of its rooms by the hour. The owner says he knows Nesta but hasn't seen her for about 6 weeks. Mister Drage had only recently stopped by to collect her mail however. That there suddenly seems to be a Mister Drage isn't the only surprise. As Alice looks into Nesta's movements and action immediately prior to her departure, she realizes that her missing friend has left too much unfinished business. She finds unpaid bills, missed appointments and perhaps most revealing, a large trunk that contains most of her clothes and her vanity case. She's more convinced than ever that her friend is dead and with her own health deteriorating, wonders if someone is now also after her.
—garykmcd