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…