Once again Lynley's friends and family are involved in one of his cases. His friend Deborah St James (whose husband is crippled) gets very close to a country clergyman she meets at the National Gallery. When he is found dead, supposedly poisoned by accident, Deborah is anxious to get to the bottom of the death and calls in Lynley. It's a complex case, and in working to solve it Lynley and Havers improve their relationship.