When a bomb rips through Manchester's Piccadilly railway station during rush hour, DCI Sara Hoyland narrowly escapes with her life but soon comes to realise that all is not as it would first appear.
The city is plunged into crisis and the usual scapegoats are wheeled out in the media and extremism seems to be taking hold on all sides. Yet just as moderate elements such as local MP Craig Sutherland seem to be calming the situation, terrorists strike again leaving a member of Sara's team fighting for his life.
Establishment fingers are pointed at the usual suspects but are they really the perpetrators? Is there a more sinister force at work hiding behind the cover of democracy? And why is MP Craig Sutherland receiving anonymous death threats and why has a respected political journalist gone missing leaving only his dead girlfriend in his apartment?
Uncovering the plot takes DCI Sara Hoyland into uncomfortable territory in this, the gripping third instalment of David Menon's acclaimed detective series