Picador begins a new decade with an exciting literary debut, an original new voice in contemporary fiction. During a sweltering summer in North London, a teacher walks into a school assembly and opens fire, killing 3 pupils, another teacher and then himself. DI Lucia May is given the case, with pressure on her just to tie up the loose ends and bury it. But a disturbing picture emerges, and Lucia realizes she has more in common with the killer than she could have imagined. She is determined to tell the truth about what really happened, whatever the consequences.