In the aftermath of the Great War and a devastating family tragedy, Laurence Bartram has turned his back on the world. But with a well-timed letter, an old flame manages to draw him back in. Mary Emmett's brother John-like Laurence, an officer during the war-has apparently killed himself while in the care of a remote veterans' hospital, and Mary needs to why. What connects a group of war poets, a feud within Emmett's regiment and a hidden love affair? Was Emmett's death really a suicide or the missing piece in a series of murders? As veterans tied to Emmett continue to turn up dead, and Laurence is forced to face the darkest corners of his own war experiences, his survival may depend on uncovering the truth.