These are questions Christine Spindler sets out to answer in a novel which takes us behind the scenes of the Caesar Dance Studio and into the minds of the people who work there. Detective Inspector Frederick Terry attempts to discover what has become of Jessica as he learns about her life and about those whose lives she has affected. As we travel with him through the world of this London dance troupe, we also get to know Rick Terry. He is no hard-boiled cynic or emotionless finder of fact. Indeed, his police reports read more like poetry than official documents, and he relies on intuition as much as on physical evidence to solve cases.
Terry is intelligent, introspective, and kind.
He is also gay. Jessica's fate is our main concern, although she isn't easy to like at first. As her terrifying situation becomes clear to us, we see her mature in wisdom and courage. She must also face painful truths about her past which she has hidden even from herself. Eventually Jessica becomes a true heroine.