Detective-Inspector Ray Whitelaw thinks - like everyone else - that Danny is just another young thug. But Danny's drama teacher is Kieran Henshall, who himself escaped from a similar existence when he was a teenager. Kieran knows Danny would never abandon his beloved dog, knows that someone had scared Danny badly. And soon, Whitelaw has traced a connection between Danny Nolan and two murder victims. But no matter where Ray Whitelaw turns, all the trails lead back to one family - the Denstones. The glamorous actress, the rich local businessman she married, are somehow involved in the story of the unwanted boy and his troubled past.