This third book in the series begins with Jack Laidlaw's despair and anger at his brother's death in a banal road accident. His questions as to the dynamics of his bother's death lead to larger questions about the nature of pain and injustice about meaning of his own life. Laidlaw is determined to learn more about the circumstances surrounding Scott Laidlaw's death. His investigations will lead to a confrontation with his own past and a harrowing journey into the dark Glasgow underworld.