This book should come with a warning "to read this book you must be dressed in duffle coat and scarf" as the description of the terrible winter in east Germany 1978/9 is so vivid. The book is so well written with excellent character descriptions and the story moves at a good pace. The story is set in the Peoples Republic of East Germany during the cold war. Karin Muller a major in the peoples police is called to investigate a possible 'accidental death' of a woman but is faced with a dilemma. In order to solve this she must defy the official Statsi (Ministry for State Security) version of events. But by defying the Stasi puts her own life and her families lives in danger. A real chilling thriller