When a woman is found dead, and the killer is linked to the murder of a little girl in 1980, Stella is the woman for the case. But dredging up the past can be dangerous. 'A class above' IAN RANKIN. Forty years ago, in the dark of the playground, two children's lives were changed for ever. The case of six-year-old Sarah Ferris, killed in an empty playground, haunted Hammersmith police for decades. Not just because the victim would never see her seventh birthday. But because solving the case meant arresting another child on suspicion of Sarah's murder. Now, forty years later, cleaner-turned-detective Stella Darnell has unearthed new information about Sarah and her killer.

As Stella pieces together the truth about what happened all those years ago, she is drawn into a story of jealousy, betrayal and the end of innocence. A story that has not yet reached its end. 'One of the most original characters in British crime fiction' SUNDAY TIMES . 'Thomson creates a rich and sinister world that is utterly unique . Gloriously well-written' WILLIAM SHAW.