Under water in a derelict quarry it was quiet, cold, and very dark. The body, burdened with weight, sank quickly, going deeper and deeper until it finally hit the bottom and settled in the loose, freezing silt.
As part of an investigation into drug trafficking, senior inspector Erica Foster, together with a team of divers, examines a derelict quarry at the edge of London where a container of drugs worth four million pounds sterling was flooded. The container is recovered, but it isn’t the only find. Along with it, divers lift a bundle containing the remains of seven-year-old Jessica Collins, who had been missing for twenty-six years. Erica Foster takes on the investigation of the girl’s death.
Comparing new facts with those identified during the previous investigation, Erica discovers a wealth of details about the shattered Collins family and about the investigator Amanda Baker, who once failed to find Jessica. Soon Erica realizes that this is one of the most complex and tangled cases in her professional career.