London in the early nineties is a hotbed of political activism and intrigue, prey and predator, and times are changing fast - too fast for DCI Rick Bailey, who is starting to think he cannot keep up. But then a young woman goes missing in the run-up to Christmas, and he's convinced Alice's disappearance is related to an unsolved murder that has haunted him for the last three years.

He stumbles upon a suspect connected to all the clues, among them a care worker facing betrayal and abuse, a cemetery worker hearing music that does not play, an activist running from himself and a blind man who sees more than anyone else.