Mark was the managing director of a software house that administered the payrolls of a number of blue-chip companies. He was a chartered accountant and impressively computer-literate. He didn’t particularly look like an accountant, however – more like a university professor. He had a beard, reading spectacles hung on a cord round his neck, and he was given to wearing cardigans with leather patches on both elbows. On hot days he discarded shoes and socks (and the cardigan!) in favour of a pair of battered leather sandals. He was a keen cyclist and had a fold-up bicycle that he carried on to the train each day so that at Paddington station he could erect it and pedal the last two miles into work.

Mark gave the impression of being a straightforward type. He was a lay preacher at his local church and was particularly interested in ethics. A year or so before, Mark had convened a number of meetings where a code of ethics for the business was hammered out. Having consulted widely, Mark personally drew up a written policy that set out standards and guidelines for ethical behaviour. Mark seized every opportunity to promote the idea of integrity as the best foundation for a good, sustainable business.

Mark didn’t just ‘preach’ ethics. He fully understood the importance of being a role-model by walking the talk and backing up his words with actions. He consciously behaved in ways that demonstrated his own high standards. For example, he always gave honest answers to questions from staff, suppliers and customers. On the rare occasions when some item was confidential or sensitive, he’d say so and promise a full explanation as soon as it was possible to give one. He did his utmost to foster open communications, believing it was better to err on the side of providing people with too much information rather than too little. He encouraged staff to consult him whenever they had an ethical dilemma and frequently referred to the written guidelines to resolve issues.

So far so good. Besides being a keen cyclist, Mark was also a sailor. He owned a 20-foot yacht that he kept in a marina in the Portsmouth area. His wife, though, didn’t share his passion for sailing. When they were first married, she had dutifully accompanied Mark, but she easily became seasick and invariably found the experience cold and uncomfortable. When she became pregnant with their first child, she used it as an excuse to stay at home and subsequent children made this a permanent arrangement. Over the years they had established a compromise whereby Mark went sailing one weekend each month, weather permitting, and for two weeks in the summer when he ventured further afield.

One year Mark set off on his customary two-week vacation, sailing across the channel and along the French coast to the Channel Islands. He telephoned his wife a couple of times to say all was well but didn’t come home in time to return to work on the Monday. Mark’s wife phoned the office to say he was not back yet and by Wednesday had informed the police that he was missing.

A week later, the coastguard found the wreckage of Mark’s yacht on some rocks in Cornwall. The wreckage showed there had been a fire at sea. There was no sign of Mark.

After another week, Mark’s partially decomposed body was washed up on a beach 20 miles further along the coast. Dental records helped to confirm his identity. His wife and children were understandably distraught.

Two weeks later another body was found on the same stretch of seashore. The body was female and there were clear signs that it had suffered extensive burning. Over the ensuing weeks it slowly became clear that Mark had been having an extra-marital affair. For the past three years the mystery woman had been his willing sailing companion.

What happened on that final journey was never fully established. Everyone who had known Mark was incredulous to discover that their high-principled role model had been deceiving his wife.