Taggart and Livingston investigate after the discovery of a woman's severed leg. However as the body parts build up Taggart finds himself no closer to the cases solution. The investigation leads them to a butcher George Bryce who Taggart and Livingston are convinced is the killer. When he turns up dead, killed with the same gun that the dismembered corpse it appears to be another dead end. However with a little further digging links start appearing and Taggart realises he's closer to cracking the case than he thought.

DCI Burke's personal life comes to the fore as the team are called to the countryside of Fenmore after a farmer is killed in a suspicious fire. With few clues and no villager prepared to offer information, Burke feels they have stepped into a private war.