When Mark James' decomposing body is found in an abandoned building, there is every indication that he was part of some occult ritual. An upside down cross was carved on his chest, his wrists were bound with ivy and he was strangled. All evidence points to his friend Sebastian Bird, a rich idler who allowed James to live in his house but who had also developed a expert knowledge of the occult before being sent down from Cambridge for having had an affair with a professor's wife. Sam Ryan's testy relationship with the police continues as she is having difficulty ...