Bath, England. When his life drawing model disappears without trace, painter-sleuth Chris Honeysett uncovers evidence of a dangerous conspiracy.

Henry Blinkhorn drowned when his boat capsized in the Severn estuary. So how come his photograph appears on the front cover of The Angler six years later? The insurers who paid out a small fortune on his death have asked private investigator Chris Honeysett to track down the elusive Mr Blinkhorn and prove he's still alive.

But Honeysett is side-tracked from the investigation by the sudden disappearance of his life drawing model, Verity Lake. Commandeering a narrowboat and heading down the Kennet & Avon canal, he hopes to kill two birds with one stone, by tracking down Henry Blinkhorn and also discovering what's happened to Verity. But it soon becomes clear that someone else is on Honeysett's trail. Who are they . and what are they really after?