When Inspector Banks receives a mysterious and disturbing telephone call from his brother Roy, Banks heads off to London to search him out. Meanwhile, DI Annie Cabbot is called to a murder scene on a quiet stretch of road just outside Eastvale. A young woman has been found dead in her car . . . With Banks's name and address written on a slip of paper in the back pocket of her jeans. While Banks stays in his brother's luxurious, empty house, digging into his life and uncovering more and more surprises about the brother he didn't really know and didn't particularly like, Annie tracks down the female victim's friends and colleagues. It seems that both trails are leading towards horrific conclusions and when the cases look likely to intersect, the consequences for Banks and Annie become terrifying . . .