The body of a young woman is discovered in an abandoned burial ground. Her body has been ritualistically mutilated, her eyes and mouth crudely sewn shut. The victim’s boyfriend, Michael Nell, seems to be the obvious suspect. However, several things do not add up and Joe Donovan is put on the case to prove Nell’s alibi. The job is far from routine, as Donovan’s inquiries lead him deep into Newcastle’s underworld of child-trafficking and prostitution. Still bearing the scars of his own son’s disappearance three years before, Donovan finds himself enmeshed in the dark biography of an elusive serial killer whom he can profile but not identify. As the killer continues to taunt the authorities with cryptic clues, a second body appears, and time is running out for the next victim.