Earnshaw's mill is one of the last remnants of Bradfield's glorious industrial past; however times are changing and Earnshaw's future is hanging in the balance. Staff cuts need to made if the mill is going to survive but the union is unhappy and its members are threatening strike action. With racial tensions already running high throughout the city, the prospect of mass redundancies at the heart of Bradfield's Muslim community could cause even more trouble. The Earnshaw family's problems spiral out of control when they discover that their son Simon has been murdered. As Michael Thackery's team investigate the death the mill is left teetering on the brink. And as the increasing popular far right political group the British Patriotic Party start campaigning for local elections violence spills on the streets of the city and it isn't long before areas of Bradfield go up in flames.