Banks and Annie Cabbot are investigating the deaths of two people who died aboard a boat which caught on fire; they discover a piece of evidence linking the arson to an art forgery scam.

Banks tries to find the ringleader of the art forgery scam, following the death of Tom McMahon. He worries that Annie's relationship with Mark Keane will compromise the investigation.

When Annie looks into the murder of a paralysed and disfigured woman whose body is found on the moor, she establishes that any number of people might have had reason to want her dead. Meanwhile, Banks investigates when a teenage girl's body is found in an alleyway in Eastvale.

The case turns personal for Banks and the team after DC Kevin Templeton becomes the second alleyway murder victim; Banks finds his investigation into the murder of Hayley Daniels is back to square one.

DCI Banks reluctantly accepts an unofficial request from Chief Superintendent Rydell to find Rydell's missing daughter.

Banks is at the centre of a murder investigation with no small amount of suspects when a body is found in the nightclub.