Along the line of Hadrian's Wall, someone is murdering people - and taking their heads. Is this ritualistic killing or a revenge mission? Detective Inspector Andreas Georgiou of Carlisle CID is brought back from suspension to investigate, but with an accusation of brutality on his record and a superior officer set on hanging him out to dry, his work will be anything but straightforward. Fighting battles on several fronts, Georgiou slips deep into a web of corruption, extreme right-wing idealism and the shocking realisation that the identity of the serial killer will be hard to discover and even harder to believe ...