First in a new five-part crime drama. After suffering a nervous breakdown, high profile defence barrister William Travers turned his back on the murder cases that made him his name and moved with his family to Suffolk. One day, an old university friend asks Travers to defend him for a murder he swears he did not commit. Old allegiances are tested and his family's fragile peace is threatened as Travers returns to London and his old chambers. Meanwhile, a body is found on a deserted farm in the Suffolk countryside and Detective Sergeant Mark Wenborn is assigned his biggest case yet.
Despite strong opposite from his wife Jane, Travers decides to visit murder suspect and old university friend Martin Newall. As Travers is drawn into Newall's case, he finds himself plunged into a conspiracy which stretches far beyond the courtroom while fighting off the forces that threaten to destroy him once again. Meanwhile, ambitious detective Mark Wenborn is determined to track down the killer of the murdered man discovered on a Suffolk farm. With no sign of motive or struggle, Wenborn thinks the case is more an execution than a murder.
William Travers continues to probe into the Martin Newall murder case while valiantly fighting off the ghosts of his past. Sure that the missing laptop will hold the key, Travers and Natalie Chandra visit the scene of the crime and meet the chambermaid who will become a key witness. Meanwhile, Jane is on a quest to find out more about Alan Stewart, the young offender whose debut novel she would love to publish. Wenborn's investigations are advanced further when he goes to visit Jeremy Forbes-Watson, Travers's old adversary.
Travers and Natalie Chandra are shocked to discover that Lucy Wilson had a history for blackmail, strengthening the prosecution's case against Martin Newall. With Wenborn breathing down Travers's neck, the pressure really mounts. When Wenborn finds out that his wife Maggie has been caught shoplifting, causing him professional embarrassment, he lashes out at her. Later, he stumbles across a crucial coincidence which could provide the missing link between the Spaull killer and his prime suspect. Has he got his man at last?
When Travers discovers that Lucy was being paid to spy on the giant oil company Qestrel, things finally begin to drop into place. Meanwhile, a vengeful Wenborn resorts to blackmail in a desperate bid to get his man. The trial finally begins and the prosecution and defence go head-to-head in a battle that goes way beyond the personal between Travers and Forbes-Watson. But is this really the final chapter? In law and life nothing is ever black and white, and when there is injustice, all the rules change.
