When Detective Chief Inspector Frank Shapiro loses his right-hand man to a hit-and-run driver, he finds himself with little time for regret. Problem number one is Sergeant Donovan, a broody young Irishman convinced that the policeman's death was ordered by a local crime baron. And if that weren't enough trouble for the already understaffed police force in Castlemere, England, someone has chosen this moment to launch a career as a serial killer. Help comes in the form of Inspector Liz Graham: Intelligent, intuitive, and ambitious, Liz is eager to prove herself worthy of her promotion, and knows she'll have to fight tooth and nail for acceptance in the overwhelmingly male-oriented world of criminal investigation. The resourceful and canny policewoman is determined that no one - especially not an angry young sergeant who resents her very presence - shall stand in her way. With the body count rising and no end in sight, Liz and Donovan finally realize that their status as outsiders on the police force is perhaps their greatest strength. And when Liz discovers a link between the murder victims - a link so ordinary, so innocent that everyone on the force is baffled - the pair devise an unconventional scheme of grace and cunning that's so crazy it just might work...if it doesn't destroy them first.