Commander Clare Blake makes her top priority the shooting of an unwanted civilian that was originally declared lawful. D.C.I. Hedges wants the case dropped. Meanwhile, James Lampton is released from prison after he has served his sentence for the murder of his girlfriend. Commander Blake discovers that his book she wrote the foreword to is rapidly rising in the bestsellers list and she decides to keep her distance from the situation. But different circumstances force the two together and rumours begin to spread. Then a nurse is found murdered and D.C.I. Hedges spots a way to get Commander Blake off the shooting case.