‘Cut his eyes out, so he has. What kind of a monster could… Cut his eyes out?’

The brutal murder of ten-year-old Callum Bradley sent shockwaves across Scotland but, as the weeks have stretched on with no solid leads, the investigation has been scaled back. Sergeant Don Colyear, Community Police Officer, is tasked with tying up a loose end: a 999 call which may have hinted at the boy’s mutilation and murder. However, the call was made fully three weeks before the crime took place.

The caller turns out to be a resident at an Edinburgh care home, drifting in and out of lucidity due to dementia. Enough to write off the potential lead as a dead end. But when a fresh murder disturbs the city, the clock is ticking and Don is drawn far away from his usual beat onto a dark path to catch a violent killer.