When a young woman disappears on her way home from work, Detective Inspector Tom Mariner tackles his most challenging investigation yet. 18-year-old Grace Clifton vanishes on her way home from work in the centre of Birmingham late at night, the case is remarkable in that not a single witness comes forward. The more he has to deal with Grace’s wealthy and overbearing father, Council Leader Bob Clifton, the more Tom Mariner is inclined to believe that Grace left of her own accord. Then the package arrives. It contains Grace’s clothes, neatly pressed and laundered. A second woman disappears. And a disturbing pattern begins to emerge. Still adapting to a new investigation team and struggling to pull its members together, Detective Inspector Mariner is about to tackle one of his strangest, most challenging cases to date.

DI Tom Mariner has, at last, come to terms with the loss of his former partner Anna and tries to get to see his new girlfriend in Cambridge when his busy schedule allows, also he is kept very busy with his autistic foster child Jamie and he is obliged very much to rely on a child minder who has a very unusual and deeply suspicious son.

Obliged, as a lead detective to progress all the main enquiries and instil in his team a rigorous discipline, Mariner is working very long days and has the usual problems getting the right sleep and food balance in his busy life. A couple of his previous team from other investigations who are either with another department or on maternity leave thankfully lend their particular expertise to him later in the investigation.