Many years have passed since Dr Blake first returned home from war to run his father's old practice. But Ballarat is no longer the sanctuary from the outside world it used to be. There's a new chief superintendent who doesn't approve of Blake's unorthodox methods, and despite the pathologist solving the crimes which have confounded the police, he is determined to get rid of Blake for good. Even dependable Jean, his housekeeper and assistant, is thinking of leaving town as her own past comes back to haunt her. Amid the upheaval the mysteries continue and Lucien Blake will face his most personal challenge yet as he tries solving his own mother's mysterious death.
