ANNE FERENS liked practically everything about Milham in the Moor where she and her husband, Dr. Raymond Ferens, were to live. But she loathed Monica Torrington, warden of the childrenโs home, at first sight. Sister Monica, as she was called, was a macabre figure, her height accentuated by the ancient, black nurseโs uniform she wore. She had the dark, unsmiling eves of a fanatic, and Anne was convinced that she was a wicked, wicked womanโone who shouldnโt have small children in her charge.
Dr. Raymond Ferens warned Anne not to meddle. Sister Monica was considered a โsaintโ and she was an unholy power in the village. Still there were furtive rumoursโrumours that connected her with the strange death of Nancy Hilton, one of her maids. But as the voting bailiff told Anne, โThe village cherishes its own feuds and loyalties and way of life ... but when you make enemies in a village like this, you donโt murder one another...โ
The bailiffโs philosophy was proved inadequate. The drowned body of Sister Monica was found floating in the millpool. Chief Inspector Macdonald was called in to solve one of the most difficult cases of his career as he unravelled the hidden events and causes that led to the death of a โsaint.โ