Detective Inspector Montague Pluke's moment of joy at finding the Lost Giant's Horse Trough of Trippingdale is almost ruined when he sees, face down in the great trough's shallow waters, a dead man. The body is that of the heir to the Trippingdale estate. He was a good man with no enemies so why would anyone want to kill him? And why has he, like several other people in the village, received a single pressed snowdrop, the sign of death.
Nicholas Rhea is the pseudonym of Peter N. Walker, who served for 30 years in the North Yorkshire police, ultimately as an inspector. He retired from the force in 1982 to concentrate on his writing.
He is also the author of the 'Constable' books (Hale) on which the television series Heartbeat is based.