A rural Welsh community is beset by a series of cruel murders...

Putting his wedding plans on hold, Detective Winter Meadows resolves to unmask the serial killer on his patch.

The only connection between the victims is the stick dolls left by their bodies. That and the fact they don’t seem to have been particularly popular.

People are ruffled. Scared. Meadows must isolate the killer fast but the evidence is brittle.

The key to unravelling the mystery is in the stone church, in the creaking homes, and in the slowly thawing fields.

Only a detective who truly knows his world can unlock the identity of the killer.