No one knows what was happening in Christian Hartwell's life in the days before his corpse was found bruised and scarred at the foot of Fellbeck Crag in Yorkshire. Was he in trouble he couldn't get out of? Was his death a suicide? Or was it something much more sinister? These are the questions that DCI Ed Swift and his colleague DI Cat Fallon must determine before a major murder investigation is mounted...but finding convincing evidence is problematic. Ruth Hartwell, the victim's adoptive mother, is unable to shed any light on her son's final days, while her daughter Harriet has a strange tale from the past to tell Swift...but one without clear links to her brother's death. Then Ruth receives a threatening visit from a man calling himself Mac the Knife and she and her family find themselves in real danger. Swift knows that it is vital for him to get to the truth - and fast. But in doing so, he risks not only his job but also his life...