A wave of fear sweeps over the Highlands following the disappearance of Bairn Knox, the community’s gentle sage. But for DI Jack Drummond, the shock quickly turns to cold dread: Saffron is back.

Saffron is the woman who framed him for her own murder and was later involved in the death of a friend and the kidnapping of Drummond’s colleague, DC Kes Crombie.

As the hunt for Bairn intensifies, Drummond is forced to confront the possibility that Saffron is linked, not just to this abduction, but to both of his most frustrating cold cases: the brutal murder of Jake Wylie, and the tragic, unsolved killing of Bairn’s childhood sweetheart, the artist Marissa Templeton. Both killings bear Saffron’s chilling signature.

Now, with the possibility of Bairn’s life being on the line and Saffron nowhere to be found, Drummond must unravel the intertwined mysteries of her present crimes and violent past, knowing that every step closer to finding the truth could mean resurrecting his worst nightmare.