The Garths had farmed their fertile acres for generations. Garthmere Hall itself was old before Flodden Field, and here Robert Garth, still hale and hearty at eighty-two, ruled his household with a rod of iron. The peaceful dales and fells of the north country provide the setting for this grim story of a murder, a setting in fact which is one of the attractive features of an unusual and distinctive tale of evil passions and murderous hate in a small rural community. First published in 1944.