There hadn't been anything like this kind of rain in living memory. The River Brede had burst its banks, and not a single house in the valley had escaped flooding. Even where Wexford lived, higher up in Kingsmarkham, the waters had nearly reached the mulberry tree in his once immaculate garden. The Subaqua Task Force could find no trace of Giles and Sophie Dade, let alone the woman who was keeping them company, Joanna Troy. But Mrs. Dade was still convinced her children were dead. This was an investigation which would call into question many of Wexford's assumptions about the way people behaved, including his own family.

In 1991, Ruth Rendell won the Crime Writers' Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for her outstanding contribution to the genre. In 1996 she was awarded a CBE, and a year later was made a life peer. Many of her novels are also available from BBC Audiobooks America.