A man dead for twenty years is found behind a wall in the renovated Parliament Building of newly independent Scotland. A tramp jumps off of a bridge and leaves behind a suitcase full of cash. And Roddy Grieve, a political candidate and the favorite son of a famous family, is killed…

          Two of Detective Inspector John Rebus’s team are assigned to the old case. His protege Siobhan Clarke takes on the homeless man puzzle. Roddy’s high-profile murder snould be his. But higher-ups hand it to a young bootlicker, creating a bitter Rebus, a loose cannon, and a cop mad enough to go one step too far…

          From an illicit affair with a suspect to a battle with the bottle, Rebus is soon wrestling with his dark side. But when he links Roddy’s murder with a killer he knows all too well, he has to face his own demons — if it’s not too late. For when passion, power, and money are at stake, even the best policeman can die…