A paralyzed girl is miraculously healed after sitting under a tree in the woods near her home. Later the same tree yields the body of a young girl killed a long time ago. This leads Dalziel into a web of abuse by the Catholic Church, including the practice of splitting up families and making youngsters slave labour on church farms. In the village Dalziel bumps into his sister, who is trying to find her brother, that Dalziel knew nothing about. And she has news for him that breaks his heart.

Dalziel and Pascoe attend a retirement party for a senior colleague, Donald Fitzgerald. Dalziel's distinctly unhappy. He cannot forgive Fitzgerald for losing a recent court case against local villain and long standing adversary Danny Macer. He's even angrier when Macer turns up to celebrate, but anger turns to suspicion when Fitzgerald's found dead on a golf course the following morning.

As the team examine Fitzgerald's soured personal life, including his affair with physiotherapist Rachel Waller, Dalziel goes after Macer. Pascoe tries to keep the investigation on course, but Dalziel's obsession soon leads him into confrontation with both Pascoe and his boss. ACC Stella Applegarth orders him back off duty on grounds of ill-health. Pascoe takes over, but soon finds evidence - a key leading to a bank vault and a suitcase full of money - which suggests that Dalziel's instincts about Fitzgerald may have been right.

As Pascoe explores the implications, a second murder, that of Rachel Waller