Spring awakens the Mornington Peninsula to new life. The showmen of the Waterloo Show have set up their carousels, enticing people out of their homes. Not so for Inspector Hal Challis. He is at the other end of Australia, caring for his seriously ill father. His deputy, Ellen Destry, must step in and quickly assert herself in a delicate case: a missing person report lands on her desk, and ten-year-old Katie Blasko has vanished without a trace. Rumors of a pedophile ring fuel fear and uncertainty on the Peninsula. While Ellen vigorously pursues the search for Katie, Hal Challis cannot resist the urge to snoop around in his hometown, searching for his missing brother-in-law. With his fourth Inspector Challis novel, Garry Disher proves himself to be a master of his craft: gripping and precise at the same time.