Lynley and Havers are catapulted into the bizarre world of Internet vice when they investigate the mysterious and brutal death of Emily Proctor, an aspiring lawyer. Proctor is found axed to death in Hyde Park.

Lynley and Havers' investigation draws them to the chambers of human rights lawyer Tony Wainwright and his clerk Hester Reed. Wainwright's passionate temper and a concealed affair with the victim seem to mark him as the main suspect, but when Emily's double life is exposed, Lynley and Havers enter a world of Internet pornography and a family haunted by secrets.

Lynley, meanwhile, rekindles his relationship with his estranged wife, Helen.