When Fred Travis, multi-millionaire and eccentric political leader, is found with his throat cut and private eye Dave Cunane's card between his fingers, things quickly go downhill for the Manchester detective. It's hard enough persuading the police he had nothing to do with the murder, but when they arrest Clint Lane, the one person Dave knows couldn't have done it, hes forced to look for the real killer. His investigations lead him to a local pop star, a controversial cult leader, and the wife of a senior police officer. And as Dave digs deeper, the patterns surrounding the murder get more and more complex until he no longer knows who or what to believe.