Is the past always waiting to revenge itself on the present? The past is the autumn of 1916; the 29th Battalion of Rifles was almost wiped out in an attack on Bouillet Wood on the Somme.   Paul Mitchell spends his days researching WWI; his quiet life in the library can hardly be in greater contrast to the carnage he studies. Until, that is, the present catches up with him in the shape of Dr Audley of the Ministry of Defence. Why does Audley and Colonel Butler  want to know what really happened during the battle for Hameau Ridge on the Somme in 1916?  What really took place and its vital significance in the present make for a dangerous and complex investigation – with a deadly climax…