Sophie Rivers is attending a writing course when a fellow student is found dead. Although glamorous Nyree hadn't done a lot to endear herself to Sophie, nevertheless she didn't deserve to meet such a squalid end. A course tutor then goes missing and it is clear that one of Sophie's fellow students is responsible - perhaps the former convict Courtney, or pompous surgeon Gimson. Sophie is unable to control her investigative instincts, despite the fact that the police warn her to leave crime-solving to the professionals. Then Sophie herself becomes a victim...