Cowardice is a very dirty word. When Malachy Kitchen, an intelligence officer in Iraq, is accused of running away in the face of enemy fire, his career is left in tatters.

Kicked out of the amry, Malachy sinks into despair. He becomes an isolated recluse in a drug-infested London estate. But the mugging of an elderly widow by addicts draws him into a fight to regain his lost pride. His target is the network of narcotics traders.

Pushers, dealers and suppliers all form part of that network, and at their head is Ricky Capel, a crime baron responsible for importing hard drugs into the UK. Untouchable up to now, Capel will have to confront an enemy more driven than any of the policemen he has so far successfully outwitted...