When an Iranian refugee is found burnt to death, it appears at first to be a racially motivated crime. It soon becomes clear to DCI Burke and the rest of the team that there is another motive and when a drug dealer enters the frame, the case is set to be extremely complex for all concerned. First appearance of the supporting character, DC Mita Rahim.

When the team are called to a flat, they discover three children all dead with a fourth named Callum fighting for his life, DI Ross then discovers the dead body of the children's father Pete in the bathroom, he therefore becomes the prime suspect but then when forensic tests reveal that Pete died before his own children. The real culprit is still at large and shocks all of the team.

After the badly beaten body of a man is found dumped on a motorway underpass, his murder is linked to a Fight Club style bare-knuckle boxing venue. Both professional and personal lives collide at Maryhill CID, with one of the detectives having to come face to face with their own demons.