'Silently dipping his oars in the water he made his escape. It was a weary journey, with few spoils to show for it. Next time he would do better. He looked back over his shoulder. The bridge had disappeared, swallowed up by the darkness. From its walkway he too had become invisible. Only the bloody body of a woman showed he had been roaming the streets that night.'

DI Ian Peterson investigates a series of gruesome and brutal axe murders in York. As the body count mounts, the case demands all Ian's ingenuity, because these are murders seemingly committed at random, and this is a killer who leaves no clues.