Past midnight, a horribly mutilated body is discovered on a road in Portsmouth, evidently killed in a hit and run. There are no witnesses - and few regrets. Why? Because the victim had been terrorising an entire estate. DI Joe Faraday unpicks the dead man's life, uncovering a world of hurt that defies description.

Ex-cop Paul Winter, meanwhile, has been sucked into even deeper water. Drug lord Bazza Mackenzie's married daughter is having an affair...with a high ranking detective. And it's Winter's job to rein her in.

Violence, drug-running, kidnap, murder. Both Faraday and Winter must battle against near-impossible odds. But whose interests will justice finally serve?