It's not going well for NE Division: half the force is off sick, all leave has been cancelled, someone has firebombed a migrant hostel and there's a massive climate change protest march happening this Saturday. With officers dropping like flies, Detective Inspector Logan McRae has to kick off a major murder investigation with a skeleton staff of misfits, idiots and malingerers - aka DS Steel's team - until the top brass can arrange back-up from other divisions.
But, as bad as everything seems, there's something far more sinister lurking in the heat haze of this sweltering Aberdeen summer: something that's been building for years. Something that longs to sing its horrible song . . .
And it's clear that things are going to get much, much worse before this is over.