The frozen body of a man is found on a meat truck in London's Smithfield Market, and on the body are a forged British passport and an Arabic manuscript on a page of vellum. The dead man appears to be an illegal immigrant - but was his death accidental? The manuscript turns out to be a page of an ancient Koran, hugely valuable. And Lynley finds himself locking horns with Inspector Brennan, of the Metropolitan Police's immigration department...

Since Lynley's arrest and suspension for threatening a suspect, Havers has been without a partner. She begins a new case in Kent alongside the heavily pregnant, no-nonsense Detective Inspector Fiona Knight. Together, they investigate the murder of Edie Covington, whose body has been discovered in a local lake.