Quirke, a hard-drinking, insatiably curious Dublin pathologist is determined to find his daughter's best friend, a well-connected young doctor. Sober again after intensive treatment for alcoholism, Quirke enlists his old sparring partner, Detective Inspector Hackett, in the search for the missing young woman. Set in Dublin, circa 1950.

"He had seen drowned people. A sight not to be forgotten." 1950s, rural Ireland. A loner comes across a mysteriously empty car in a field. Knowing he shouldn't approach but unable to hold back, he soon finds himself embroiled in a troubling missing person case, as a husband claims his wife may have thrown herself into the sea. Called in from Dublin to investigate is Detective Inspector Strafford, who soon turns to his old ally--the flawed but brilliant...