Police officers respond to a domestic disturbance call and find a grisly crime scene. DCI Alan Banks has found the home of a serial rapist and murderer, but the suspect is in a coma. A fifth victim is missing and may still be alive, and Banks is determined to find her. DS Anne Cabbot from Professional Standards wants to know about the circumstances leading to the assault on the suspect.

DCI Banks suspects Lucy Payne of complicity in the rape and murder of four women and the disappearance of the fifth. DS Cabbot is more interested in investigating the now-suspicious death of her husband. The revelation of Lucy's true identity complicates matters.

In the first episode, DCI Alan Banks is taken to a canal where there has been a fatal fire. The crime is far from straightforward, and as another body is discovered the motive, as well as the intended victim, become increasingly unclear. However, the discovery of what appears to be a Turner landscape suggests that at least one of the victims was involved in an art forgery scam.