They're used to solving murders. But until now the killer has always been human...

October 1912. The inhabitants of Littleton Cotterell emerge from their homes after a week of torrential storms to the gruesome news that one of Sid Hyde's prized sheep has been mauled to death. As rumours abound of a vicious beast stalking the Gloucestershire countryside in search of prey, Lady Hardcastle and her fearless lady's maid, Florence Armstrong, set out to find what is surely a rational explanation.

Then Hyde himself is brutally killed in a similar attack, and the villagers go from curious to terrified. Littleton Cotterell isn't exactly unaccustomed to murderers--but a ferocious animal capable of tearing a man to shreds? That's entirely different.

When another man dies and a third is injured, it's clear that whatever is behind the attacks needs to be caught, and fast. But are the villagers really seeing what they think they are? Is there actually a beast on the loose? Or is what's out there something more sinister--and much more human?