Patrick Gillard is drawn out of retirement when his former NCA boss, Commander Michael Greenway, appears on his doorstep. John Brinkley, a newly retired commander of the Metropolitan Police, has gone missing, and Greenway wants Patrick to find him. Brinkley is wanted in connection with corruption in the Met, but Patrick is convinced that there's more to his disappearance than meets the eye. Why is Brinkley's old boss, Assistant Commissioner Luke Wallingford, so keen on his arrest, and what does Brinkley know that has the Met, MI5 and dangerous mobsters all on his tail? Patrick and his wife and working partner, Ingrid Langley, soon realize that the stakes are far higher than they imagined - and that someone is prepared to go to any lengths to keep what Brinkley knows hidden . . .