Academic conferences can be full of petty squabbles-and sometimes, not-so-petty ones. . . . "There are few detective-story writers so consistently good." -Sunday Times

Professor Andrew Basnett has returned to his old university for a meeting of the Botanical Association, an event that should be entirely benign, aside from the usual inflated egos and bickering. But he can't help being just a little curious about Carl Judd, an artist who was murdered here just two years ago. And, of course, about Stephen Sharland, who's in prison for the murder-even though no one thinks he did it, not even Judd's widow. The rumors are flying, the tongues are wagging, and then the only witness to the crime gets murdered, too! It's all too exciting-no, sorry, too terrible, too terrible for words. Thank heavens Andrew Basnett is on hand to weed out the gossip and dig for the taproot of truth . . .