'Somebody has been here before us. And he's still here. . .'

When a body is discovered in the remote depths of the Highlands, DCI Karen Pirie finds herself in the right place at the right time. Unearthed with someone's long-buried inheritance, the victim seems to belong to the distant past – until new evidence suggests otherwise, and Karen is called in to unravel a case where nothing is as it seems. It's not long before an overheard conversation draws Karen into the heart of a different case, however – a shocking crime she thought she'd already prevented.

As she inches closer to the twisted truths at the centre of these murders, it becomes clear that she's dealing with a version of justice terrifyingly different to her own. . .

Number one bestseller Val McDermid returns with a breathtakingly atmospheric and exhilarating novel.