River Deep

Life in Shrewsbury is normally calm and uneventful. However, when the River Severn bursts its banks, a body is discovered floating in a flooded cottage. Coroner Martha Gunn is one of the first to be called to the scene. In the fetid cottage Martha's instincts tell her that this is a homicide—a hunch borne out by the post mortem. The victim is presumed to be the cottage's tenant, James Humphreys, who recently went missing. However, when asked to identify the body, his wife Cressida is adamant that it is not her husband. Martha Gunn is left with many perplexing questions. Who, then, is the victim? Why has he been murdered? And where has the real Mr. Humphreys gone?