It starts with a phone call asking for help. But where it ends is a very different story. Gina Wolfe is searching for her missing husband, believed dead, and thinks Superintendent Dalziel can help. What neither realize is that there are others on the same trail. A tabloid hack with some awkward questions about an ambitious MP's father. The honourable member's secretary who shares his suspicions. The ruthless entrepreneur in question - and the two henchmen out to make sure the past stays in the past. Four stories, two mismatched detectives trying to figure it all out, and 24 hours in which to do it: Dalziel and Pascoe are about to learn the hard way exactly just how much difference a day makes!