Things can't get much worse for detective Jane Tennison.

Unceremoniously kicked off the adrenaline-fuelled Flying Squad, she now plies her trade in Gerald Road, a small and sleepy police station in the heart of London's affluent Knightsbridge. With only petty crime to sink her teeth into, Tennison can feel her career slowly flatlining.

That is until the discovery of the most brutal murder Jane has ever seen. Charlie Foxley has been found viciously beaten to death with a cricket bat - his body dismembered and disembowelled.

As a big-time theatrical agent, Foxley had a lot of powerful friends - but just as many enemies. And alongside her old friend DS Spencer Gibbs, Tennison must journey into the salacious world of show business to find out which one is the killer, before they strike again.

Following her adrenaline-fuelled time with the brutally masculine and corruption ridden flying squad, Jane Tennison is transferred to the small Gerald Road Police Station. Due to the proximity to Knightsbridge and the affluent shops and luxurious properties, her work is dominated by petty crime, and after six months she feels her career is flatlining.
Alongside Jane, and equally disgruntled after being demoted to Detective Sergeant, is her old friend Spencer Gibbs. He complains bitterly that he has not had one serious crime to get his teeth into, and he gets what he wishes for when they are subsequently confronted by one of the most brutal murders either has ever been involved with. The victim is a famous theatrical agent and uncovering the motive for the horrendous murder becomes an astonishing foray into the salacious world of show business.