A small village in central England. Thirteen-year-old Rebecca Shaw, who is spending the Christmas holidays here with her parents, does not return from a moor walk. The police immediately launch a large-scale search operation. A helicopter is deployed, officers comb the area, and divers check the surrounding reservoirs. The villagers also join in the search. The press learns of the girl's disappearance and sends reporters to the scene. Soon, all those involved fear the worst, and the people in the village must find a way to cope with their daily lives in the shadow of the events. With great virtuosity and underlying tension, Jon McGregor tells how people deal with a tragedy they witness up close, and what from this tragedy endures the passage of time. For the uncertainty remains, even as the years go by.