When lecturer Lindsay Gordon returns to the UK for a trade union conference in Sheffield, she finds herself in the company of old friends and enemies, including corrupt union leader Tom Jack.

When Tom is found dead, falling from Lindsay's tenth-floor hotel room, she is instantly pegged as the top suspect.

Desperate to clear her name, Lindsay searches for the real killer among the hundreds of union delegates at the conference, uncovering a seething cauldron of blackmail and corruption.

Praise for Val McDermid

'McDermid remains unrivalled ... Brilliant' Observer

'Val McDermid is a born storyteller... absorbing reading' Sunday Telegraph

'A classic ... McDermid pulls out all the stops. Impeccable' Guardian