School teacher Grace Penny is dead, and all the clues point to accused satanist Lawrence Spangler as her killer. Even as he protests his innocence, the aged farmer is imprisoned while authorities descend upon his home in search of further evidence of the devil-worshipper's horrific handiwork. But they needn't bother looking. To the police and public, Spangler is already guilty. Even private investigator John Halting has to admit it looks like an open-and-shut case. Still, something nags at Halting. Something about memories, about how what we remember is not always what truly happened. About how fantasies and nightmares can obscure our realities... and about how the things we desire or fear often colour the truth. He's seen it in himself, and in those around him - and by the stunning conclusion of Green Candles, John Halting will come to understand that, with memories as well as murder, things are not always what they seem.