When an ex-con meets an untimely death, the investigation has a slippery start

Found bound and beaten in a warehouse, a convicted criminal leaves a cryptic message before he croaks on the way to hospital.

What did he know that was worth killing for? DI McCord sets out on the icy streets of Edinburgh to look for a clue.

Elsewhere, vivacious fashion journalist and meddlesome amateur sleuth Amy Thornton is in the doghouse, sent to report on a garden center, and forbidden from getting involved in any crime capers.

But fate seems determined to force their paths to cross, and trouble is rarely far behind.