The murder of Richard Daws, 14th Earl of Hartwood and a senior official at the National Crime Agency at his home - the highly secure Hartwood Castle - has sent shockwaves through MI5, MI6 and the Met. Patrick Gillard, Daws\' protege and \'adviser\' to the NCA, along with his wife and working partner, Ingrid Langley, vows to find his killer. Soon hunting down the recently out-of-jail Nicholas Haldane - a bent ex-civil servant who once tried to kill Daws, as well as dealing with the arrival of Irvine Baumgarten, an American claiming to be Daws\' heir, and the suspicious disappearance of Daws\' replacement at the NCA, Marcia Lindersland, not to mention MI5 on their tails, Patrick and Ingrid face a formidable task to catch Daws\' killer.