Absolute Discretion

The quiet Somerset countryside, in the autumn of 1873. At Langston Park House, the home of the Earl of Warminster, a visitor is expected — hardly an unusual event. However, this particular visitor is a young Oxford student who calls himself Vernet, who has been asked to make some delicate inquiries about the Earl's family. And all around the village of Langston there are other secrets, which their keepers would prefer stayed hidden: a difficult task under the penetrating eye of the young student. Vernet's arrival, which coincides with a search in the area for an Army deserter, proves to be the catalyst for a chain of events which solves mysteries and uncovers secrets — but also leads several people to their deaths.