When a suspected serial killer jumps to his death from the roof of a homeless hostel, the only witnesses are Pascoe and a homeless girl, who goes by the name of Abbie Hallingsworth—who has been missing for nineteen years. DC Shaz Kendall, on attachment to Wetherton CID, invites Abbie to stay while she tries to learn more about the events leading up to her disappearance. However, her coy tactics of introducing her to her long-lost family lands her in hot water with Dalziel.