In a remote part of the Peak District stand the Nine Virgins, a stone circle overshadowed by dark legend. As winter closes in, a tenth figure is added – the body of Jenny Weston, the limbs arranged so that she appears to be dancing. Weeks earlier another woman was attacked on the moors. Maggie Crew was found by a local farmer’s wife, severely traumatized, her face savagely cut open. Detective Sergeant Diane Fry must unlock the memories trapped in Maggie’s mind – quickly. For DC Ben Cooper there are too many questions. Two travellers, sleeping rough near the scene, baffle the detectives with their strange rituals and language. Then there is the Park ranger with a shameful secret. And what of the farmer on whose land the Nine Virgins stand, a desperate man feared by his children?
