Leaving the grime of Victorian Edinburgh behind her, Rose McQuinn makes a long-anticipated journey to visit her sister Emily who still lives in their childhood home on Orkney. But on those far-flung isles Rose does not find the peace and relaxation she anticipates; instead, events take on an unexpected and sinister twist. The calm pleasure of Rose's holiday is shattered when a body is discovered during an archaeological dig. Far from being that of a 13th century princess, as the archaelogists had hoped, it becomes clear it's of a local woman, long presumed drowned but in fact brutally murdered. Rose is in a dilemma as she realises that she probably knows the identity of the murdered but to reveal it, she will destroy forever the happiness of those closest to her.