In the recently abandoned home of her neighbour, Alice Hardy, Mary discovers a horrific scene -- a young boy cowering in a cupboard and the body of a young man, stabbed to death, his face painted red, white and blue and his thymus gland expertly cut from his chest.The thymus gland is known in some animals as the sweetbread, an edible delicacy, -- and Mary receives a note that claims this murder is just a taster.In yet another unusual, darkly sinister mystery, policewoman Charmian Daniels seeks to uncover the truth while the killer has more work to do.