Inspector Jean Darblay gets a letter propositioning her. Someone knows she might be lonely as her husband is away. Darblay thinks it might be someone in the force pulling her leg.
Both Sergeants Beck and Parrish are protective of her to investigate it further.
However this is a plot point to the main stories One of them involves an elderly lady who claims to be pestered by youths at night in order to get rehoused by the council is trivial.
The other one is a freelance children's book illustrator Lin Mitchell who has moved into Hartley and she is trying to deal with a blocked drain herself.
A neighbour sends her son around who is a bit of a handyman. Lin is attractive, in her 30s and divorced. The neighbours think she might be a bit stuck up and likes to do everything herself.
When she goes to the police station claiming she was raped by the handyman. Detective Chief Inspector Jim Logan thinks it is a case of 'he said, she said' although he gives the handyman a piece of his mind.
Darblay sympathises with Lin Mitchell but she knows that the defence team could always make out Lin to be a lonely middle aged woman who fancied a bit of company, led him on etc.
It is a story to show how difficult it was for rape victims to be believed at the time.