Marian Clowes is an administrator at Salford into Work, a recruitment and training company assisting unemployed people to gain employment. Claims to a government funding body have been falsified. Marian is suspected of being a whistle blower. She is also a member of a group called Harmony Earth which is protesting against FrackUK a company prospecting for shale gas. One Friday evening she is celebrating her thirtieth birthday with colleagues in The Lowry Hotel, Manchester. The next morning her body is found in the river Irwell. Inspector Lambert of Greater Manchester Police finds the two scenarios are inextricably linked. Marian's boss disappears immediately, followed a short time later by the Contract Manager of FrackUK. Enigmatic sleuth the Gent from the Enodo Agency becomes involved when his client a Lancashire farmer is threatened by fracking protesters.