When a sheep farmer boards a stricken fishing vessel stranded on the shore, he is in for the shock of his life. Within lies the body of a man who is, for all intents and purposes, inside out.
The police find a filleting knife in the hold, covered in the victim’s blood. DI Charlie West arrives on the scene, and given the obvious disembowelment, immediately determines that a murder has taken place.
The boat is otherwise abandoned, but detectives soon trace the owner, a man well known to the police. Cocksure, he has a clear alibi but after some less-than-delicate probing, his story springs a leak.
However, the investigation is thrown into confusion when a local girl goes missing. What is the connection to the gutless sailor? Or the arrogant boat owner?