DI Dave Creegan is locked in a stalemate with the suspected child abductor Ronald Hinks. The situation is made worse when the team begin to question his approach. Creegan is grateful when a breakthrough comes from an unlikely quarter, but the pressure is on to find the boys before it is too late. With only circumstantial evidence against Hinks, it becomes increasingly difficult to prove that the abductions are his work.

DI Dave Creegan is forced to draw on his own near-death experience when three hospital patients are murdered one night. Why they were chosen and by whom is not evident until a bizarre message comes to light. It soon becomes apparent to Creegan that he and the killer have something very special in common.

For the second time in his life, DI Creegan comes close to death. The experience gives him crucial insight into the mind of the killer. He is locked in a life or death duel with a killer who is an affront to everything he believes in.

A spate of barbaric attacks on horses leads DI Dave Creegan and the team to a group of youngsters being manipulated through the internet. The investigation uncovers an address in London, but what appears to be an empty house has a shocking surprise in store. Meanwhile the youngsters are still on the loose and their targets are no longer animals, but humans.