The disappearance of a young child is of great concern to any community, especially to a close knit one like Carnford. But it is doubly disturbing for Detective Constable Perry as seven year old Elaine is the daughter of his estranged sister Elizabeth Oakley.Breaking all police protocol and rules about investigating a case where a close personal relative is involved, Perry continues to pursue his enquiries in the face of opposition from his cantankerous superiors Yates and Clark.For Perry, who is convinced of the perpetrator's identity, it is a race against time before kidnapping turns into murder. For his senior officers, it is a case of doing everything by the book.Jeffrey Ashford has written a fine study of power and officialdom coming into conflict with sheer determination, gut instinct and a will to succeed.