Jack Shaftoe is a detective sergeant involved in the usual eclectic mix of murder, drugs and corruption. His dubious investigation methods see him persuaded to leave the London Met. and transfer to his home city of Newcastle. While trying to save his marriage and keep an affair with a female detective constable private, an apparent suicide quickly turns into a suspected murder.

With dogged determination and forensic clues, he and his mistress unravel a frightening plot that could lead to drastic consequences on a world scale. His wife, an investigative journalist is desperate for the story of the century.

Only a priest, through the confessional, knows the truth and full implications and, bound by the edicts of his church, remains silent. Shaftoe needs him to break his vows and is prepared to use any method to do so.