In this, the second of Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane mystery series, Harriet Vane the mystery writer, cleared of murder through the efforts of Lord Peter Wimsey, seeks solace in the country. Walking along a barren beach she stumbles across the body of a bearded young man with his throat cut. From the moment she photographs the corpse, which soon disappears with the tide, she is puzzled by a mystery that might have been suicide, murder or a political plot. With the appearance of her dear friend Lord Peter Wimsey, she finds a reason for detective pursuit ... as only the two of them can.