Jonathan Selkirk, ruthless high-powered solicitor, recognises a threat when he sees one - and he is in little doubt that this new letter suggesting he 'make a will' is to frighten him. Indeed, only hours later he is recovering in the Leek Hospital with a suspected heart attack.

Detective Inspector Joanna Piercy is also at the hospital that morning-the victim of a road accident - and inadvertently finds herself at the scene of the crime. For late that night, Selkirk mysteriously disappears from his private room.

The discovery of a dead body two days later leaves Joanna coping not simply with a murder investigation, and a badly broken arm, but also with the arrival of the Crime Squad. For the formidable Superintendent Karen Pugh believes the murder is the work of a professional contract killer - and the small village of Leek is where they are going to trap him.