From mud tracks on a quiet country road to dirt specks on the soles of walking boots, British forensic ecologist Patricia Wiltshire uses her decades of scientific expertise to find often-overlooked clues left behind by criminal activity. Blending science writing and true-crime narrative, Wiltshire recounts her journey from college professor to crime fighter, solving murders, locating corpses, and exonerating the falsely accused. Along the way, she introduces us to the unseen world all around us and underneath our feet: plants, animals, pollen, spores, fungi, and microbes that we move through every day.

"How this mild-mannered but fiercely dedicated academician came to muck around in woodlands, bogs, and parks searching for clues that would otherwise escape the less botanically astute makes for a fiendishly good memoir…. A stellar glimpse into this fascinating field of criminal investigation."—Booklist