Jock Lewis was supposed to have died in that terrible train crash at Paddington. Minty, his girlfriend, received a letter from Great Western telling her so. But, curiously, the police haven't been in touch. And Jock has borrowed all her savings... Zillah also got a letter from the railway company, informing her that her husband, Jerry Leach, was dead. Something about the letter struck her as suspicious, but she chooses not to mention her doubts to the up-and-coming Conservative Member of Parliament who has just proposed a marriage of convenience...Fiona, a successful banker, met Jeff Leigh before the Paddington crash in August. Although he never seemed to have a job, and borrowed money from her, she is utterly devoted to him - and can't understand why he suddenly has disappeared...There were other women too, unknown to each other, who had relationships with a dark-haired man, who, after a little while, would vanish completely from their lives. Then Jack's ghosdt reappeared to Minty - at home, at work, at the cinema. He even touched her. Minty started to carry a knife. If he wasn't made of shadows, would he bleed?