Detective Chief Inspector Alan Alexander Carillion, once the golden boy of the Met Police moved to Glasgow after he blotted his copy book down south. Now head of the newly minted Serious Crimes Unit he is dragged back into the world of intrigue and hidden motives that he thought he had left behind.

Glasgow is to be graced by the a royal visit in celebration of the immanent investment of many millions into the city by a secretive Chinese hotel chain. Carillion is put in charge of security for the visit, but all is not as it seems and he is soon caught in the middle between the secret services, politics, the police hierarchy and Glasgow's three gangland bosses. Things get more awkward when his ex-wife turns up to lead a team from the secret service.

Carillion has ten days to find his way through this tangle of different motives and agendas to ensure the safety of Royalty. As the body count mounts and a betrayal at the heart of Police Scotland is discovered, Carillion races to find and neutralise the mysterious assassin JJ.