The body of bestselling novelist Joe Logan is found dumped in a disused Victorian crypt at the Brompton Cemetery in central London. Logan's throat has been slit; he has been castrated and the post mortem indicates that he has been tortured. DI Mark Tartaglia is convinced that the motive is personal, but researching Logan's recent past proves problematic. Following the publication and overnight success of his debut novel The Pact, Logan had become a recluse. Tartaglia's instincts tell him that Logan had something to hide and he starts to dig. Then barrister Charlie Fleming disappears and is found dead the next day in an old boathouse on the Thames, castrated and killed in a similar fashion to Logan. It is not long before a link between the two men is discovered. As the investigation unfolds it seems likely that key evidence lies hidden in an unfinished manuscript Logan was working on. The race is on to find the link between the two men before another murder takes place.