Stephen Walby writes a column in the local newspaper as the Voice of Vangmoor and is at his happiest when he is exploring the moor. But events begin to take a sinister turn when, while out walking, Stephen finds the body of a woman. Then a second body is found and Stephen finds himself under suspicion at the heart of a mystery. Who is the unknown person sheltering on the moor and why have the murder victims had their hair cut off? Stephen is finally unable to cope, after he discovers that his wife is having an affair, and the consequences are tragic. This is Ruth Rendell at her best, writing a macabre and haunting tale of a man obsessed.