Maxine's parents have had to do perhaps the worst possible thing: confirm the identity of her brother Derek by the clothes he was wearing when he disappeared. So the brother who was simply missing is now officially dead.
But then the worst possible thing really happens: Maxine picks up the telephone to hear somebody saying that he is her brother . . . that he is Derek. She can hardly believe her ears. Has Derek come back from the dead? Is somebody playing a sick joke? But who on earth would be that cruel?