About the book: 2013 / Inspector Rutledge, on instructions from Scotland Yard, goes to the small town of Osterley, where a priest is killed. The crime cannot be called ordinary, although at first glance its motive is the most primitive - robbery. But the unjustified cruelty with which it was committed tells the detective that the background of the drama is multi-layered and requires close study. To unravel the criminal tangle, he will have to penetrate more than one tragic secret..