Matthew Bartholomew is completing his final term at Michaelhouse before marriage and retirement, but the disappearance of two scholars and a succession of murders prevent a quiet departure. The evidence increasingly points towards members of the university itself.
The case becomes personal when Bartholomew begins to suspect the new husband of his beloved sister. Working with Brother Michael, he must test family loyalty against facts while uncovering a secret capable of damaging the chancellorship, Michaelhouse and the future he has planned beyond Cambridge.