The body of a young woman dressed in evening attire is found in an abandoned car. It looks like suicide, but there are too many open questions for Banks to rule out foul play. The car didn’t belong to her, so how did she get inside? Where—and when—did she die?

Meanwhile, DI Annie Cabot is at the scene of another death. A well-dressed man has been found in a gully high up on the wild moorland. His injuries are consistent with those sustained in a fall. But what was he doing in a rocky spot popular with hikers? Was it an accident, or was he pushed?

As the police begin to uncover who these people were, the inconsistencies only multiply. Then a source close to Annie reveals a piece of information that rocks the Eastvale detectives. An old enemy has returned in a new guise, and he will stop at nothing, not even murder, to get what he wants.