Early one cold November morning in the run-down seaside resort of Whitley Bay the body of a young girl, Sophie Washington, is discovered. DI Jack Brady, back on active duty after recovering from a shooting incident, is on the edge and his problems intensify when long-standing friend DI James Matthews reveals that he was with the victim the night she died. Brady's investigation becomes increasingly compromised as he realises Matthews is holding something back. Delving deeper into Sophie's life, he discovers that the men who should have protected her are the chief suspects: her teacher, her step-father and a police detective.