Lonely, aging, and chronically ill, Ned Jones is found dead in his room. Ignoring routine, Detective Inspector Michael McKenna finds himself drawn to the extraordinary house of women who surrounded Ned-Edith, addicted to tranquilizers; Phoebe, driven remorselessly by her acute intellect; Mina, nineteen, beautiful and blank of stare; Annie, eldest daughter and single mother. Slowly, McKenna unravels a story of greed, deceit and twisted loyalties that points to one thing: murder.