A high court judge living a carefree life in St Petersburg is one day beset by pains and soon has to come to terms with the fact that he will die. He must learn to face death without fear and yet feel compassion for the family he is leaving behind.
The first message sent to Tom Thorne's phone was just a picture - the blurred image of a man's face, but Thorne had seen enough dead bodies to know that the man was no longer alive. But who was he? Who sent the photograph? And why? While the technical experts attempt to trace the sender, Thorne searches the bulletins for a reported death that matches the photograph. Then another picture arrives.