In the early hours of the morning in a luxury Leeds penthouse, a terrified victim is doused with petrol, set alight, and thrown out of a ninth-floor window. The victim is a wealthy property developer - but his lover and her daughter have both gone missing.

Meanwhile, security services are looking for DC Karen Sharpe who walked out eighteen months ago. But they are not the only ones desperate to find her. She is being pursued by some of the most dangerous people she has ever encountered - and to them, human life means nothing at all . . .