The body of a murdered girl washed up by a pier leads Gently and Bacchus to investigate the staff and holidaymakers at a family holiday camp. They explore how the youth of 1969 have more independence than their parents and discover that with fewer families coming to the camp, the ideal of the family holiday begins to break down. Gently and Bacchus delve into this world of fame seeking and sex, and discover the dark underbelly of a permissive society as the traditional family dynamics of the past begin to crumble.