A series of young blonde women are found strangled and left near water. Maryhill CID launch an investigation to find the person responsible for the murders. DCI Jim Taggart is asked to head up the investigation, alongside newly graduated sergeant Peter Livingstone. Despite their differences, they must uncover the killer's identity before he strikes again.
The skeletal remains of a dismembered body are discovered beneath the floorboards of a house in Glasgow, but DCI Taggart and DS Livingstone find themselves sidetracked when the case takes an unexpected twist – a nine-month-old toddler is kidnapped from a multi-storey car park by an unknown assailant, followed by a ransom demand of £50,000.
A famous opera singer is accused of murder when the body of her ex-husband's new girlfriend is found on the burnt out shell of his boat. DCI Taggart and DS Livingstone fall out when they come to different conclusions as to who is responsible for the murder. Livingstone suspects that DCI Taggart's judgment has been clouded by Eleanor's beauty.