Two men lie in a welter of blood in the vestry of St Matthews ChurchPaddington their throats brutally slashed. One is Sir Paul Berowne a baronetand recently res... » 

Two men lie in a welter of blood in the vestry of St Matthews ChurchPaddington their throats brutally slashed. One is Sir Paul Berowne a baronetand recently resigned Minister of the Crown the other an alcoholic vagrant.Dalgliesh and his team set up to investigate crimes of particular sensitivityare faced with a case of extraordinary complexity as they discover the Berownefamilys veneer of prosperous gentility conceals ugly and dangerous secrets. «