Fiona Thompson House

Sydney-based private investigator Stephanie Marshall didn't have any idea where it would lead her when potential client Patricia Palmer came into her office that morning. She seemed like such a genuine, concerned woman who was desperate to find out what had happened to her best friend Neil Jenkins who'd apparently vanished off the face of the earth three years ago, leaving his car door open with the keys in the ignition close to one of Sydney's Northern beaches. Stephanie is happy to take on the case but the more she peels off the layers of it the more she begins to doubt the sincerity of Patricia Palmer. Why had she waited three years before hiring a private investigator? Why did everyone Stephanie talked to about the case say that Patricia had fallen out with Neil shortly before he'd disappeared when Patricia denied that? And why did everyone say that Patricia would have an ulterior motive for wanting to find Neil now? Trying to get down to the truth brings Stephanie into contact with a group of people who all bear grudges of one form or another against Patricia. They all say she's ruthless and capable of anything. So is she trying to cover something up? Is she trying to deflect attention away from her own wrongdoing? And how is she connected to Stephanie's new lover Wayne who seems to carry enough secrets of his own to make Stephanie a little uneasy? Why hadn't he told her why he'd been in prison? What was he doing at his age with seemingly nothing to show for it? The investigation into Neil's disappearance takes Stephanie through southeast Asia and then back to Australia with the biggest secret of them all. How will old scores be settled once everybody knows what really did happen to Neil Jenkins that night and just who was involved? Neil's father came from another country and one which is engaged in a brutal civil war. Patricia thinks she can stoke those fires and remain spotless. But can she? Could even she have gone too far this time? In a dramatic climax that Stephanie herself is caught up in they all realise that they're not as big as the world that can overpower even the most manipulative of men and women. Patricia is eventually exposed as the callous liar that she is but her old enemy Beryl Hamilton has some explaining to do too and perhaps not all of Patricia's secrets are exposed. And perhaps this time her husband David can't rescue her from everything.


Genre: Mystery