Quiet life in suburbia takes a dark turn when a woman is discovered murdered, found lying dead in her back garden. When DCI Vera Stanhope discovers that the neighbours aren’t all that they seem, buried secrets must be unearthed in order to catch the killer.

DCI Vera Stanhope is called to a chilling murder scene when the charred remains of a body are discovered in an abattoir incinerator. With limited forensic evidence, she is disturbed to identify the body as DC Harry Fenton, a respected police officer from the Northumberland & City Fraud Unit.

When a seemingly beloved resident of a coastal community is fatally driven off the road, DCI Vera digs up the victim's past in the hope of unmasking the killer.

Vera is confronted with a tragic mystery when the dead body of teenager Ethan Dewley is found floating in a reservoir in a remote rural town, DCI Vera Stanhope must scrutinise the fractured relationships of the surrounding community to find his killer.