Detective Sergeant Jane Tennison is just settling into her rank when a shop vendor finds the body of a young woman on his way to work in Peckham. One of the rougher sides of town and feeling the full effects of the labor strikes with rubbish left to rot and be picked over by rats, it will be no picnic trying to determine who the unknown woman is, who killed her and why. As she and Detective Inspector Gibbs take over the primary investigation under the scrutiny of Detective Chief Inspector Moran, the body of a wealthy older woman is discovered in the boot of her car and yet another young woman is found dead in a homeless men's hostel room. The older woman's son, Andrew, arrogant and philandering and a person of interest has ties to none other than Chief Superintendent Blake, who is caught lying about Andrew's whereabouts on the night the first young woman was murdered and Tennison feels her hands tied consistently tighter as she continues to seek justice for these women. What is their connection to each other? What might their connection be to Andrew? Where is the young man whose room the third woman is found in? Tennison sticks to her gut instincts to unravel the threads connecting them and to bring the killer to justice.