Moonlight shines over the cottage by the river, casting a shadow over the frozen water. Silk fabric rustles in the reeds, moving ever so slightly to reveal five thin bones... When Detective Morgan Brookes is urgently called to her Aunt Ettie's cottage, hidden in Covel Woods, she rushes to the scene. Panicked Ettie is shaken having discovered the chilling remains of a woman in the river, one skeletal hand reaching out from the deep water. The unknown woman was dressed to walk the rugged trails of the Lake District, so Morgan's team assume she fell in the water and was taken by the current. But thin diagonal bruises on her neck suggest something far more sinister. A faded red rose tattoo helps Morgan identify her as a homeless woman who went missing seven years ago, and Morgan is horrified to discover Martha stole nappies and baby formula just before she disappeared. Did she have a child? Where is the poor baby now? Desperately searching through cold case files, Morgan discovers that
