At the site of an archaeological dig, Wycliffe and the squad investigate after a body of more recent vintage is discovered. Agnes Currow scared away two men who dug up grave but then ran off with the skull. Jack Choak, the local publican, was one of them, the other was Bill Marrack. Dr. Franks thinks the body is from the 1960s. Gilbert Rawle is the local lord of the manor and his nephew Giles, a most unpleasant character, runs the estate since Gilbert's daughter Tilly is simple-minded. They think the body may be that of an itinerant worker but when Dr. Franks reveal that the dead man was black, their research shows that an African-American serviceman from a nearby military base, Joshua Perry, disappeared in the 1960s. When Tilly Rawle tells Wycliffe someone stole her baby, he quickly pieces together what must have happened.
—garykmcd