In the small retirement town of Hockley, on the south coast of England, the castrated body of a man is found buried in a shallow grave on the beach. Quickly establishing that although the man obviously bled to death there is no blood around the body, it is obvious that it has been placed there post mortem; but, by whom and why? Elsewhere, the murdered body of a beautiful, young Turkish woman is found by her brother and reported to the police. Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector 'Dibs' Beacon and his Sergeant, Australian Sophie Fletcher, believe that the murders may be related. Time is against them as their prime suspect, the dead woman's brother, leaves Hockley for London immediately after his sister's cremation. As their case builds, cultures clash in a deadly game of cat and mouse that delves deep into the heart of London's illegal immigrant population.