A fiery cross outside a blazing house. A woman dead, her son burned. And the culprit appears to be the babysitter.
Police investigations can be heavy-handed, and it's the job of Detective Chief Inspector Sophia Beadle and her hand-picked team to handle those cases which require a more tactful approach.
A grotesque arson attack, more reminiscent of 1960s Mississippi than contemporary London, is just one of the things on their plate. The prime suspect is just about the least likely person imaginable - until they discover her father's neo-Nazi past. Along with the team's usual caseload of rape, hate crime and vulnerable youths, there's also a violent burglar with a predilection for sexually assaulting his victims with their most treasured possessions.
The detectives must juggle all of this with their own preoccupations. DC Nina Tarantini discovers that her husband has been unfaithful in the most hurtful way possible; PC Larissa 'Lucky' Stephenson has a terrible and possibly career-ending secret. These troubles, together with promotion, homesickness, unrequited love and overwork, cause faultlines within the team - and unless they fix the cracks, the resulting sequence of events could cost one officer her life.