When DI Vera Stanhope finds the body of a woman in the sauna room of her local gym, she wonders, briefly, if for once in her life, it's a simple death from natural causes. But a closer inspection reveals ligature marks around the victim's throatâdeath is never that simple... Pulling her team together, she and colleague, Joe Ashworth, try to find a motive. The victim was well-liked, quiet, lived alone with her daughter and worked in social services. What possible reason could there be to want her dead? Things are never as they seem though and when another body turns up then Vera knows that if she and Joe don't crack the case soon, someone else could be next in lineâ¦