5 October 1982. It’s been one of the worst days of Detective Sergeant Jack Frost s life. He has buried his wife Mary, and must now endure the wake, attended by all of Denton s finest. All, that is, apart from DC Sue Clark, who spends the night pursuing a bogus tip-off, before being summoned to the discovery of a human hand. And things get worse. Local entrepreneur Harry Baskin is shot outside his club, an off-licence is set on fire and a famous painting goes missing. As the week goes on, a cyclist is found dead in suspicious circumstances, and the arsonist strikes again. Frost is on the case, but another disaster one he is entirely unprepared for is about to strike . . .