When an old acquaintance of Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez dies in a suspicious car accident on the island, he wonders whether his journalist friend had uncovered a story that cost him his life.

After a second body is found brutally murdered on Shetland, Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez wonders if the two killings are connected to corporate greed and corruption on the island or to just one woman - Evie Watt.

Perez returns to his childhood home after the murder of a scientist on the beautiful island of Fair Isle. Tensions run high as a storm on the mainland forces Perez to work in isolation - and compels all of the suspects to remain together under one roof.

Time is running out for Detective Inspector Perez as prime suspect Peter Latimer lies critically ill in hospital. Was the fire a drunken accident, or was Peter Latimer the second victim of a murderer still free on Fair Isle?