A Chief Inspector Morrissey Mystery.
Lucy is sixteen, suspicious by nature, and homeless. But she's also six months pregnant, so when she's picked up by the Malminster police and taken to a refuge she stays there grudgingly - just for one night. One night turns into two, then three, and then father Donnelly introduces her to the Cedars Nursing Home, where in exchange for domestic work she's offered bed and board until after her baby's birth. It looks like things might work out for Lucy after all . . .
But it's hot and humid in Malminster. Tempers are fraying, a rotting body has been discovered in a ditch swollen by rain, and trouble of the worst sort is on its way for Chief Inspector Morrissey.