When the administrative head of the Steen Psychiatric Clinic is found dead with a chisel in her heart, Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard is called in to investigate. Dalgliesh must analyze the deep-seated anxieties and thwarted desires of patients and staff alike to determine which of their unresolved conflicts resulted in murder.
Widely acknowledged as "the greatest contemporary writer of classic crime" (The London Sunday Times), P. D. James received the Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Award for long-term achievement in 1999.