In their lovely, quiet Cotswolds village, Janet and Susan are known to the villagers simply as ‘the girls’. Partners in love and work, co-proprietors of a picturesque shop, they lead an enviable, enviably settled life. But when a moment of small, surprising passion intrudes into the equilibrium of their world, the girls’ lives take a deeply unsettling turn.
First comes motherhood. Then comes murder. In summer, and particularly when the wind blows south-west across the lawn, the sceptic tank gives out a strong stench.
