In the tiny "deep country" town of Jacob's Rest, Detective Emmanuel Cooper is sent to investigate the murder of an Afrikaner police officer, Captain Willem Pretorius. Cooper, an "English" South African, is viewed with suspicion by both the Boer Afrikaners and the dead man's family. His investigation is quickly taken over by the army's security branch, eager to pin the blame on political agitators. But Cooper isn't interested in political expediency. As he pursues his own line of enquiry, he discovers that Captain Pretorius had led a secret double life. The more Cooper digs, the more dangerous the investigation becomes. For Cooper is a man with his own secrets, and learning the truth about Captain Pretorius might just save his life.