The first book in the critically acclaimed DI Marjory Fleming series.

''An unalloyed pleasure - an intelligent, character-driven crime novel'' Andrew Taylor

Death is in the air. Death is on the ground. Death is everywhere for the people of Galloway.

As a catastrophic virus devastates the Scottish countryside, killing cattle and destroying lives, a body is discovered in a dug-up field. Detective Inspector Marjory Fleming finds herself at the stormy heart of a troubled, trapped community.

Thousands of miles away in New York, Laura resolves to unearth the dark secrets of her past. Determined to find the truth about her older sister's disappearance fifteen years ago.

A dead body, a missing girl, and a mysterious family’s dangerous obsession with bull running provide a sinister backdrop to DI Fleming's first murder investigation. And as the cold shadow of death looms ever larger over this quiet corner of rural Britain, one thing becomes clear: it won’t be her last.