When an Olympic rowing hopeful and a detective with the Met is found dead in the Thames, Scotland Yard Superintendent Duncan Kincaid is submerged in a complex case involving ethical issues that put both his career and reputation on the line.

Supt. Kincaid of Scotland Yard investigates the death of a lady living in his building. Ill with cancer, she asked friends to help her commit suicide, but Kincaid suspects the morphine that killed her was administered by someone intent on murder, not euthanasia.

When a thirteen-year-old boy is found floating in the river Thames with his throat slit, William Monk, superintendent of the Thames River Police, pursues a child pornographer who runs a sex ring using small boys. Monk's wife Hester and several memorable characters from Dark Assassin return in this richly complex story.