Winter. Crime scene: a London park at dusk. DS Stella Mooney stares down at the brutalised body of a young woman.

From the shelter of nearby trees Martin Kimber is watching events ...watching Stella. Next morning he walks into a Notting Hill police station and confesses to the murder. It's a fast clear-up - just what the AMIP 5 squad wants this close to Christmas. But Stella has her doubts about Kimber's guilt.

So if Kimber didn't commit the murder, who did? Someone without conscience or pity. Someone who will tap into Kimber's disturbed mind. Someone with a dark plan ...