When DI Vera Stanhope finds the body of a woman in the sauna room of her local gym she wonders briefly if for once in her life she’s uncovered a simple death from natural causes. Then Vera spots ligature marks around the victim’s throat…Vera revels being back in charge of an investigation again working with Sergeant Joe Ashworth to find a motive. While Joe struggles to reconcile his home life with the demands of the case death has never made Vera feel so alive. The duo investigates the victim’s past and discovers a shocking case involving a young child. Probing the secretive community they try to stop a killer in the present who can’t seem to let go of the past.