Philip Dryden

Journalist Philip Dryden is shocked to be informed by police that his father has been killed in a car accident - he drowned during the fenland floods of 1977, 35 years before. At the same time, two unrelated cases are demanding Dryden's professional attention: a body riddled with bullets found hanging in the middle of a lettuce field, and a couple protesting that the local council has buried their baby daughter in a pauper's grave without permission.

The “Funeral” Owl is supposedly an omen of death, so when there’s a rare sighting, Philip Dryden, editor of local newspaper, has a sense of foreboding. It's already proving to be an eventful week. The body of a Chinese man has been discovered hanging in a churchyard; the death of two tramps has unearthed some shocking findings; and a series of metal thefts is plaguing the area. And Dryden has been requested to help in solving a horrifying ten-year-old cold case.