Friday 31 December 1999. In the early hours of the morning in a luxury central Leeds penthouse, masked intruders douse a terrified victim with petrol, set him alight and throw him burning from the fifteenth floor roof garden; a human torch. DS Pete Bains is night duty CID at Milgarth when the call comes in. The body is quickly identified as Nicholas Hanley, a wealthy local property developer. Bains' attempts to pull together an enquiry stall when he cannot locate the victim's lover and next of kin, Anna Hart. Unknown to him Hart is only five miles away, but the nightmare she has been sucked into has catapulted her into a world of danger and horror unlike anything she has ever had to cope with. She was meant to be taking her 11 year old daughter on a trip to see in the new millennium. But instead of delivering a surprise visit to a Caribbean paradise, Hanley's plans bring brutal violence and danger to Anna as the real secret of his business success explodes in her face and both she and her daughter are kidnapped at gunpoint. But finding her isn't Bains' only problem. Special Branch are looking for DC Karen Sharpe. Sharpe and Bains have a bitter history. Now she has disappeared for real. Bains would like to keep it that way, but Sharpe has a nasty surprise for him. As the day progresses he is forced to re-evaluate everything he knows about her. If Karen cannot pull her shattered personality together the last day of the millennium will be the last day of her life.