A year previously, DI Delaney was responsible for the arrest of Michael Robinson, a vicious rapist. Robinson always claimed he was set up by the police but, before he could be brought to trial, he was brutally attacked in prison and left for dead. He survived, however, and a year later, out of hospital and fit for trial - he is pointing the finger squarely at Delaney for the assault that nearly killed him.
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.