1950.An obese man lies dead in the zoology shed of the local university. Rats are running all over and around his body which is naked to the waist and covered in lard. Two mysterious handwritten signs are found nearby and a numbered pendant is tied around the man's neck.Two days later, another man lies dead at the back of a local hotel. He is face down in an old bath filled with water. Two more signs are found near the body but are different from the messages found with the previous victim. And another pendant is found around this man's neck but with a different number from that on the first body.Is there a connection between the victims?What do the messages mean?Do the numbered pendants suggest a sequence of murders?Detective Harry Taylor is stationed in the quiet and conservative city of Armidale in country New South Wales. He must use all his experience and investigative skills on these unusual and challenging cases.University lecturers and students, newspaper reporters, priests, other police officers, forensic specialists and townsfolk all have their opinions but are at a loss as to the identity of the murderer and their motive.Harry's job is complicated by breaking in a new detective, addressing false accusations from his past, a daylight physical assault, the tension of the local population and making time for his romantic life.