"The 19th century New Zealand setting, the rich character development, the harkening back to so much in the history of the British Empire -- all these make for a story one simply cannot put down."

When Sergeant Frank Hardy awakes in a remote underground prison in the bush with no memory of how he got there, he must search his past for clues. The answer is buried in his history and he will have to dig it up before he can be free.

The story began in The Sergeant Frank Hardy Mysteries: Book One, Not the Faintest Trace which brought together Sergeant Hardy and Danish Immigrant Mette Jensen during the search for two missing Danish men. An event from the past returned to complicate Hardy's life and as people start to die his own life is threatened.