Police in a small Welsh coastal town are perplexed by the disappearance of seventeen-year-old Julia Anscombe. Her father Frederick, a local businessman, is found bludgeoned to death in the gardens of his country retreat. Inspector Murdoch does not believe the lies he has been told by the family. His interest is piqued by the last entry in her diary that Julia's mother says is not in her daughter's handwriting.

... I was christened.There was something vaguely familiar about the man as he held me in his arms, making strange noises as people came to stare at us. The cigarette smoke on his breath disturbed me as he kissed my cheek. This was not what I wanted or needed. A little girl, who had placed her forefinger under my nose so I would not remember, told me I was pure again because I had not lived. Why was I remembering now I was reborn to a new family? The man who held me was my murderer. He murdered me no more than eight months ago while his wife was pregnant. I knew I would punish him for he did to the others and me, for I would never forget in the years to come. . .