A woman's naked body is found washed up on Cramond Island near Edinburgh. She has been mutilated by a ship's propeller, but there is no doubt that she was a murder victim. Days later detectives are called to a flat in Edinburgh. The kitchen is covered in blood, and the occupier is missing. The dead female's name is revealed and it stirs old, unwelcome memories for those who knew her, Skinner most of all. Inquiries soon reveal demons in his past, and suggest that they may have overcome him. But Skinner, now Chief Constable of Strathclyde, is based in Glasgow, and has no reason to become involved. Yet he does, unwittingly setting a course that will lead him to the toughest choice of his life. Twists and turns evolve and soon Skinner is in the depth of a personal nightmare, career-threatening and life-changing.