Much as Harry Flint tries to fight against the beliefs of his pupils, there are times when he wonders if they are right. With a failed marriage behind him, he sets about changing his own life and researching that of his ancestors. How can the mysterious disappearance of Anne Flint in 1816 and the drowning of a young girl in the chalk stream when the Prince Regent occupied the throne possibly affect him? The deeper he digs, the more he realizes that the past is closer than he could have ever imagined. Set in the beauty of the Hampshire countryside, this is a story where people are not what they seem and the past is no more predictable than the future.