The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Banville, John. Snow. New York: Hanover Square Press, 2020.

The novel is set in the year 1957. St. John Strafford is a detective with the Dublin Police Department. He is sent to investigate a murder in the small town of Ballyglass. The victim is a Catholic priest. His body was found in a house where he was often a guest. The victim’s name is Tom Lawless. He was stabbed to death, and someone cut the genitals off of his body. The only other people in the house were the Osborne family. Geoffrey Osborne is a wealthy Protestant and a war veteran. His first wife passed away years ago, and he is now married to his second wife, Sylvia. Geoffrey’s two children are Lettie and Dominic. The family employs Alphonsus “Fonsey” Welch to tend to their horses.

Strafford interviews the four family members, but there is no clear evidence indicating that any one of them in particular is guilty of the crime. During the course of the investigation, Strafford stays at a local inn called the Sheaf of Barley. The owners are kind, and Strafford meets some of the town’s locals in the inn’s bar/dining area. Strafford drives to Scallanstown, where Tom Lawless’ sister—Rosemary—lives. Rosemary says that her brother mainly joined the priesthood to spite their domineering father, who wanted Tom to be a lawyer. Rosemary says that, in her opinion, her brother was not suited to being a priest. Strafford returns to Ballyglass and receives a phone call from his commanding officer, Chief Superintendent Hackett. Hackett says that John Charles McQuaid, the Archbishop of Dublin, has asked to meet with Strafford.

Strafford meets with McQuaid in Dublin. McQuaid asks Strafford to cease the investigation, but Strafford refuses. Strafford returns to Ballyglass to continue the investigation. By that time, it becomes clear that Jenkins—Strafford’s partner on the investigation—has gone missing. With the help of the local police, Strafford forms a search party, but they do not find Jenkins. The novel then shifts to a flashback chapter that is narrated by Tom Lawless. It becomes clear that, when he was alive, Lawless had a history of raping underage boys. He was a chaplain at a school, and he repeatedly raped young Fonsey Welch. About a decade later, Fonsey and Lawless both lived in Ballyglass by coincidence.

The narrative shifts back to the main storyline. Strafford continues his investigation. He interviews Dominic Osborne, who admits to having had a sexual relationship with Lawless. Soon, someone finds Jenkins’ body in Fonsey’s camper van. Lawless’ severed genitals are also in the van. Fonsey’s body is soon found, and he has apparently drowned himself. The novel’s epilogue takes place ten years later. By chance, Strafford encounters Lettie in Dublin one day. It becomes evident that Lettie—not Fonsey—was the one who killed Lawless. Lettie has no explicit motive for having done so, and Strafford has no evidence with which to convict her.