Within the space of three days, two men are found brutally murdered. Their only connection is that they were both involved in the same cricket match. But the complete lack of evidence left at both crime scenes leaves Detective Inspector Steve Hardcastle in a quandary. Is he searching for one killer or two?

The few lines of enquiry he and his team are able to follow up quickly lead them down a succession of blind alleys and Hardcastle comes under increasing pressure from his senior officers to make an arrest.

And when a third man who was also involved in the match suddenly disappears without a trace, Hardcastle knows that it is only a matter of time before he is taken off the case. With his career prospects disappearing with each dead end, he is left with just one last throw of the dice.