Synopsis

Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope examines the death of Niall Coulter, a man of twenty-nine. Those closest to him are determined to conceal the truth, but it is only when the body of a drug dealer is discovered on a Northumberland shore that a grim picture of Niall’s past begins to unfold. As Vera grapples with echoes of her own history, she meticulously examines the evidence of grief, affection, and addiction that shaped Niall's life. She concludes that his killer was driven by a fierce,