Superintendent Bob Skinner is called to investigate a brutal death. A man lies at the deep end of an empty swimming pool, his neck broken and almost every other bone in his body shattered. Soon, an organised crime connection looms, and bloody retribution spreads to a second city. Then a vicious knifeman seems to be targeting Edinburgh's gay population. As if this double dose of homicide isn't enough Skinner's personal life takes a similar, perilous twist.