Six girls from the local high school swarm and brutally beat a compatriot after setting her up by asking her to meet them in the early evening at the local cemetery. Another girl is joined by a friend and they drag the victim to a secluded spot in the cemetery and club her to death and hurriedly bury her. The victim is reported missing and three days later the victim's body is found after scavenging ravens get the attention of a passing dog walker. An inquiry leads to a tip from a friend of one of the six and eventually the facts are disclosed. The six are sentenced to minor sentences, including minimal jail time and probationary periods. The killers are sentenced to second degree murder and serve 12 year sentences.
After the release of the two killers, the original six begin dying from various causes, including illness, accidents and violent attacks. At first, the deaths are not considered connected, especially as others in the same occupation as the third victim and not members of the six are also attacked. Finally, when the fourth of the six survives an attack, the police conclude a serial killer is systematically eliminating the girls and has introduced a cold-blooded diversion by killing others not connected to the six. Inspector Murphy, Commanding Officer of the Langford Detachment, calls in the Integrated Major Crime Unit, comprised of police officers from the RCMP and municipal police forces within the Greater Victoria Region. The list of suspects is long and Tim Murphy must use all the tools available to him to zero in on the killer.