When the body of journalist Duncan Brown is found in the back of a rubbish truck, Inspector John Carlyle is thrown into the middle of a scandal that threatens to expose the corrupt links between the police, the political establishment and the hugely powerful Zenger media group. Hunting down Brown's killer, Carlyle finds himself going head-to-head with his nemesis, Trevor Miller. A former police officer turned security adviser to the Prime Minister, Miller has dirty money in his pockets and other people's blood on his hands. Untouchable until now, he is prepared to kill again to protect his position - having failed once already to dispose of Carlyle he is not prepared to slip up again...

Can you win an election and cover up murder at the same time? In the middle of a General Election, someone is targeting former members of the ultra-exclusive Merrion Club, youthful hedonists addicted to excess transformed into pillars of the political establishment. Next in the killer's sights is charismatic, ruthless Edgar Carlton, the man poised to be the next Prime Minister. But, with power almost in his grasp, Edgar will not stand idly by while his birthright is threatened.When Inspector John Carlyle finds a body in a luxury London hotel room he begins a journey through the murky world of the British ruling classes which leads all the way to the top. Operating in a world where right and wrong don't exist and the pursuit of power is everything, Carlyle has to find the killer before Carlton's people take the matter into their own hands.

It's time for confession ... Inspector Carlyle is burning the candle at both ends. While investigating a priest who has engaged in less-than-pious activities, Carlyle comes head-to-head with an old adversary—Christian Holyrod, the Mayor of London. The mayor is hosting an upcoming visit from the pope and is determined to keep any scandals involving the Catholic Church out of the public eye. But Carlyle, never one to let bad behavior go unpunished, faces off against church and state.Throw in an armed robbery at a high-end jewelry store—and a traumatic event involving Carlyle's wife—and the inspector is in way over his head. With so many forces working against him, will Carlyle bring the truth to the surface, or will he drown in the unstoppable current of lies and corruption?

The worst murders occur closest to home . . .When Agatha Mills is killed in her own apartment in the shadow of the British Museum, there is only one suspect—her husband, Henry. For Inspector Carlyle, it seems like an open-and-shut case. But much to Carlyle's chagrin, Henry refuses to confess. Worse, he comes up with an alternative version of events that is nearly impossible to investigate.Carlyle just wants to put the murder to bed, but when a distraught Henry kills himself on the way to prison, doubts begin to surface. The mounting evidence indicates he may have been telling the truth. In which case, the murderer is still at large . . .