It's Clementine Trussel's first proper case as Mr Gout's apprentice. So far, things are not going well.
Called to a distant country house by a mysterious letter, they arrive late and exhausted. But if they thought the resident's reception was cold, it only gets worse from there. Moments after they arrive they are attacked by the very creature they've been summoned to destroy.
It quickly becomes clear that not everything on the Thicklewood estate is what it seems. Mr Gout is suspicious of the story they've been told, and, somewhere, he's sure there is a body. But if Clementine and her master stand a chance of doing anything about it, first they must figure out exactly whom they can trust.
If they can't...then Clementine's first case might just end up being her last.