First a tragic accident - next a gruesome murder . . .
Nina Cattermole had an unusual death: head-butted by a horse as she protested against the local hunt. The official verdict is that it was a freak accident. But for the Cattermoles it is merely the start of their troubles. On the day of the funeral a family friend, himself a hunt saboteur, is found dead in a ditch.
Den Cooper, a local CID detective, is sent to investigate. It soon becomes clear that this is not another accident. Charlie Gratton has been trampled to death by a horse, the blows struck with such precision that they could only have been delivered by an animal under the control of an experienced rider. It seems that Charlie, a practicing Quaker, has been murdered.
As Den tries to solve the case he finds himself drawn in to an insular Quake community and a village divided by loyalties and past misdeeds . . .
