A promising young musician, who has just been awarded a scholarship to the Royal Academy, is discovered dead in a lake. The youngster has an unfortunate link to Andy Dalziel, a fact that causes him to be pulled from the case by ACC Belinda Kennedy. As they investigate the youngsters troubled life more secrets come out. Dalziel meanwhile picks up a lead on the case that links him to the youngsters family and solves another mystery.

A young Indian woman is murdered after a heated meeting of a racially divided community who are discussing the fate of the local youth centre. Andy and his team are pulled in as there are no resources available. DC Novello drives through a riot and has her car window smashed before Dalziel & Wield come to the rescue. Dalziel is not made to feel welcome by the local Super - she calls him a country bumpkin! With the help of a Indian PC they follow up on leads - and in this case everyone has hidden agendas.

An old flame of Dalziel's dies of cancer and someone murders the village lawyer. Together these 2 events open a can of worms. Peter Pascoe goes to visit his daughter in America, right into the path of a hurricane, aptly named Hurricane Andy. A letter addressed to Andy reveals that he is a father, something he had been unaware of for over 20yrs. Before he can deal with this his son is murdered. In the end everyone has a secret and Dalziel manages to turn over every rock to expose the truth