London’s Detective Chief Inspector Anna Travis must decide where her loyalties lie, duty to the job or personal ambition, in this masterful tale of suspense from the award-winning, international bestselling author of the Prime Suspect series—one of today’s finest crime writers, alongside such talents as Sophie Hannah, Ruth Rendell, Kate Atkinson, and Ian Rankin.

Six months ago, London nightclub owner Josh Reynolds was found dead. Ruled a suicide, the police investigation was closed. Then a young man, awaiting trial for armed robbery, tells his guards that Reynolds was murdered, and that he has information to share.

DCI Anna Travis is scheduled to leave for training at Quantico, as part of an exchange between the Met and the FBI. But before she can leave, she’s got to review the case thanks to her boss, DCS James Langton. Joining her team is senior FBI agent and crime scene expert Jessie Dewar.

The American’s brash manner quickly ruffles feathers throughout the Met, and what should have been a simple matter of tying up loose ends becomes a political powder keg when the competence of the original investigation team is challenged. Suddenly, Anna is faced with a dangerous choice. Will she close ranks to protect her people, or push to find the truth no matter what the consequences?

Award-winning and international bestselling author Lynda La Plante returns with the eighth installment in her acclaimed series featuring London's Detective Chief Inspector Anna Travis.

Late night on a notorious high-rise estate in the borough of Hackney. A woman on the street never makes it home after a long night of drinking. A white van is being driven erratically. The driver is pulled over by the police and questioned. A suspect . . . an arrest . . . a confession. Case closed?

Five years earlier, a thirteen-year-old girl disappeared in broad daylight on a busy London street. Detective Chief Superintendent James Langton headed the investigation; the case was never solved. It has haunted him ever since. And now comes another confession, to this murder, and to one more besides. But is it too good to be true? After being pulled into the fray, Anna Travis isn't so sure that they have their man.

Then the suspect changes his story. . . .