Stephen Walby, a quiet and introspective young man, has spent his entire life exploring the local moor and writes articles on its ecology for a provincial newspaper. His primary source of income is as a furniture restorer where he works with his embittered father. Stephen's mother deserted both of them many years before, and the trauma of that experience stills haunts him as an adult. After meeting and conversing with a beautiful blonde artist working on the moors, he subsequently discovers her brutally murdered body. When Detective Inspector Mandible investigates, Walby becomes the D.I.'s prime suspect - especially when he discovers that Stephen's four year marriage has never been consummated.