An old man, Sir Manuel Camarque, dies when he loses his foothold on a dark winter night, slips into a lake and drowns under the ice. It looks like an open-and-shut case. However, Camarque, who was a world-famous flautist, planned to marry Dinah Sternhold, a woman young enough to be his grand-daughter. The banns of the marriage had just been read for the third time in church and Sir Manuel was nervous. Dinah tells Wexford that Camarque had suspicions that his daughter Natalie (who would inherit his fortune) was not his daughter at all but an impostor. Wexford investigates, and develops a theory of an intruder who pushed the old man into the lake.

C a s t

George Baker as Det. Chief Insp. Wexford
Christopher Ravenscroft as Det. Insp. Burden
Rossano Brazzi as Sir Manuel Carmarque
Janet Maw as Dinah Sternhold
Cherie Lunghi as Natalie Arno

Production Credits

Director: Sandy Johnson
Writers: Ruth Rendell (book), John Davies (original teleplay), Trevor Preston (adaptation)
Production Company: Television South
Series 4 episode 9 shown by Thames TV 24 December 1990