The laughter of playing children carries across sun-dappled fields, a jarring contrast to the grim discovery in the drainage ditch beyond the farmyard. The body of a troubled young woman, once seeking refuge from her past, now lies abandoned among weeds and forgotten farm equipment, her search for peace violently ended.

Detective Inspector Keith Tremayne and Sergeant Clare Yarwood find two adjacent communities divided by philosophy: a traditional English village with centuries-old hierarchies, and Harmony Farm—a commune established by charismatic Gabriel Ellis, who promised followers healing, acceptance, and escape from societal trauma.

The commune residents—artists, former addicts, abuse survivors, and disillusioned professionals—each sought redemption under Gabriel’s gentle guidance. His philosophy of love and community stands in stark contrast to the violent death on their doorstep. As Tremayne’s investigation deepens, cracks appear in the commune’s peaceful façade. Jealousies simmer beneath professions of universal love. Power dynamics shift in whispered conversations. Several residents share mysterious connections to the village they supposedly left behind.

When a second body appears—an elderly village resident with no obvious connection to the commune—the case takes a bewildering turn. Yet Yarwood begins detecting patterns connecting the seemingly unrelated deaths, with threads weaving between the commune and the village.

The picturesque village masks generations of abuse and exploitation. The supposedly enlightened commune harbors its dangerous secrets. A killer moves freely between both worlds somewhere within this tangled human ecosystem.