When Jane Perry accepts a promotion from CID to Kent Community Liaison, her first engagement is to attend the funeral of ex-mayor Richard Musthill - but chaos erupts with the discovery of a headless corpse already occupying the grave. Jane is brought into the investigation when local villagers complain about police infringement - and point the finger at a local cult group. But who is the headless corpse? And what was the reason for his grisly death? Jane is determined to unravel the threads which will lead to a killer.