Morse and Lewis find the house was being used to make pornographic films and the client list includes Daley and a local lecturer, Alan Hardinge.

Morse realises that Michaels killed Daley and then had Cathy dress up as him and drive to the woods to hide the body, in order to give himself an alibi.

This book marks the death from natural causes of Morse's pathologist friend Max, whose full name is revealed as Maximillian de Bryn.

The television adaptation guest-starred Nicholas Le Prevost as Hardinge, Neil Dudgeon as Michaels, Michelle Fairley as Cathy and Christopher Fairbank as Daley.

Karin Eriksson became English girl Karen Anderson, a more unstable character who had been sexually abused by her father and served time in jail for murdering him.

Phillip's suicide was omitted but a more violent and dramatic ending added where Cathy kills both Daley and Michaels to protect her secret, finally perishing from a shot from her own gun when Morse knocks it out of her hands as she threatens him and Lewis.