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.

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

In the village of Thirksby the mine is being broken down to make way for a new hi tech factory. Protestors at the site storm the site and this leads to the uncovering of a skeleton, who has been there since the strikes of '84/'85. The victim turns out to be a bent undercover cop, who was supposed to have run off with £250,000 meant for the strikers. Dalziels investigation opens a lot of wounds and awakens bad memories of the strike for both himself and the old miners. Peter Pascoe starts to doubt his superior as he researches Dalziels involvement 15 years ago. Dalziel sees his sister for the first time in 7 years but time has not improved their relationship. As the developer of the old mine is found murdered the secrets start to be revealed, opening old wounds and causing new ones.