A woman's naked body is found washed up on Cramond Island near Edinburgh. She has been mutilated by a ship's propeller, leaving no means of identification. Days later, detectives are called to a flat in Edinburgh. The kitchen is covered in blood, and the occupier is missing. When the woman's name is revealed it stirs old, unwelcome memories for those who knew her, Chief Constable Skinner most of all. But Skinner is based in Glasgow, and he has no reason to become involved in the case. Yet he does, unwittingly setting in motion a course that will lead him to a personal nightmare and the toughest choice of his life...