Laughton Rees is back in the latest novel from the bestselling author of the Sanctus trilogythis time, with a case that hits uncomfortably close to home and threatens the thing Laughton values most: her daughter.

When a body with no head or hands turns up in the river Thames Forensic specialist Laughton Rees is called in to consult. But what at first seems to be a typical, if gruesome case, quickly turns personal when it becomes apparent the body has a connection to Laughton's past.

Laughton is not ashamed of her youthful indiscretions after all, they led to the birth of her daughter Gracie, the person she loves most in the worldbut when this new case unexpectedly leads to Gracies father turning up in their lives again, Laughton is automatically wary.

Shelby Facer is a dangerous man, formerly imprisoned for his involvement in an international drug trafficking ring, and no matter what Laughton once felt for him, she doesnt want him anywhere near Gracie. But when Shelby claims he can identify the victim, she can't turn down his help.

The headless body seems to belong to a man who was part of a highly secretive smuggling ring Shelby was involved with during his and Laughtons youthwhich Laughtons father, former commissioner for the Metropolitan police, was investigating before he died.

Laughton throws herself into her fathers old files to try to trace the connections between past and present, but as she and DCI Tannahill Khan circle closer to the truth, the killer circles closer to them. When another body turns up, mutilated just like the first, the victim is no stranger to Laughton. Shell have to face the darkest parts of her past to find the man behind the murdersbefore he takes away everything she loves.