In ancient stone circles of the lake district, charred bodies of elderly men are found. All victims were burned alive. And everything points to a single person’s doing—a mysterious serial killer nicknamed in the press the Cambrian Burner. He leaves no evidence; the police are at a loss. Until, on the body of one of the victims, they find an extracted name of one of the detectives—Washington Poe. Now the disgraced detective is forced to return from retirement and lead an investigation he has no desire to be part of.
Together with Tilly Bradshaw, a brilliant but very closed-off analyst woman from the National Crime-Fighting Agency, Washington Poe follows the killer’s trail. Very soon it becomes clear that the Burner has a plan, and for some reason the detective plays a major role in it. In the shocking finale, Washington Poe will have to doubt everything he knew about himself—and understand that there are things much worse than being burned.