A man drowns. Another dies in a motorbike crash. Two seemingly random accidents, yet, in a pair of so-called dialogues sent to the Mid-Yorkshire Gazette, apparently as entries in a short story competition, someone seems to be claiming responsibility. At the Mid-Yorkshire CID, however, no one seems to take the deaths seriously, not even young DC Hat Bowler. But when the story is leaked to the media, and a third indisputable murder occurs, Dalziel and Pascoe find themselves playing a deadly game against an opponent known as the Wordman. Gradually, the hunt focuses on three main suspects. Yet Dialogue follows Dialogue and funeral follows funeral until Hat Bowler begins to fear that the next murder may strike very close to home.