From a chance observation made by his sister, Miles Rueda, the central character of the novel, realizes that something he has seen as a child many years earlier in the village of Corby Falls was most likely a prelude to murder. Everything now points to the recently deceased Dr. Biranek, a former neighbour of the Ruedas, and a prominent township resident. Miles casually talks about this long-ago crime around a restaurant table. His story acquires legs...