"East Midlands farmer Bernard Bailey, a violent man with a brutal temper, stands to pocket a hefty inheritance if he fathers a male child. After destroying one wife to achieve this end, Bailey turns his next marriage into a twisted business arrangement. If his new spouse produces a son, she will be paid handsomely for her trouble."--BOOK JACKET.

"After six months of receiving highly publicized death threats, and having a state-of-the-art security system installed on his property, Bailey becomes just another statistic - a bloodied corpse discarded on his secluded farm. This gruesome homicide launches Detective Chief Inspector Lloyd and Detective Inspector Judy Hill into one of the most unusual investigations of their careers.

The question is not "Who stands to gain from his death?" but "Why wasn't the monster killed sooner?" For Bailey aroused strong, murderous passions in just about everyone in Bartonshire, from the abused daughter of his first marriage to his second wife's clandestine lover."--BOOK JACKET.