In this book, The Missing Heiress, the fifth in the DCI Buchanan series, DCI Buchanan is asked by his good friend Sir Nathan Greyspear if he could help his friend Amal Barazani with a private matter. Sir Nathan takes Buchanan to his club meet Amal Barazani. Amal Barazani explains that his daughter, Ziliini, heiress to the Mastrani fortune hasn't been seen since the previous Friday evening. First indications are that it could be a case of a spoilt brat having a tantrum and Buchanan asks if she has done this before. Amal says yes but it was always to stay with friends. Buchanan suggests that her friends are contacted. They have been, Amal Barazani tells Buchanan, but none of them have heard from her since the middle of the previous week.
Could it even be a case of kidnapping for ransom, or is there more sinister reason for her disappearance?
When a dismembered body, presumed to be that of her boyfriend, is discovered buried in a construction pit in the village of Westham, the indomitable team of DCI Buchanan and DS Street set out to discover why he was killed the whereabouts of Zilini Barazani the missing Mastrani Heiress.