Water Like a Stone

Superintendent Duncan Kincaid’s festive family visit to his Cheshire childhood home takes a chilling turn when, on Christmas Eve, his sister unearths a mummified infant's body concealed within the wall of an old dairy barn. What begins as a personal retreat for Duncan, accompanied by Gemma, Kit, and Toby, quickly transforms into a macabre investigation, unsettling the picturesque town of Nantwich. This ancient tragedy resonates eerily with the recent drowning of Peter Llewellyn, a schoolmate of Duncan’s niece, Lally. Meanwhile, former social worker Annie Lebow, living a life of self-imposed isolation on her narrowboat, finds her solitary Christmas plans disrupted by an unsettling encounter, suggesting she holds keys to the town’s hidden past. As Kincaid delves into the infant’s mysterious death, he uncovers a facade of tranquility, revealing that the charming reaches of the Shropshire Union Canal and the seemingly idyllic community harbor dark, deadly secrets and a history far from innocent. The investigation forces Duncan to confront the buried truths of his own past while navigating a complex web of deceit and tragedy.