Detective Superintendent Alan Banks is called in to lead the investigation after a shocking mass murder occurs during a wedding outside a small church in the Yorkshire Dales. An exhaustive manhunt ensues and the shooter is run to ground as the investigation follows its inevitable course. But Banks, his colleague DI Annie Cabbot, and the newest and youngest team member, DC Gerry Masterson, are plagued by doubts as to exactly what happened in the churchyard that day, and why. Have they apprehended the right suspect? Is there more to uncover? Struggling with the death of an old flame and the return of profiler Jenny Fuller, a former love interest, Banks is compelled to dig deeper into the suspect's past and motivations, and as he does, he uncovers forensic and psychological puzzles that lead him to long forgotten secrets. It's possible that eventually they'll provide the answers he is looking for, but will he piece together the clues in time?