What price will he pay to get his old life back...? From the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES 'This is British crime-writing of the finest; lasting quality' DAILY MAIL 'Genius ... Rankin once again proves himself to be the consummate master of crime' SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY A series of seemingly random disappearances - stretching back to the millennium. A mother determined to find the truth. A retired cop desperate to get his old life back... It's been some time since Rebus was forced to retire; and he now works as a civilian in a cold-case unit. So when a long-dead case bursts back to life; he can't resist the opportunity to get his feet under the CID desk once more. But Rebus is as stubborn and anarchic as ever; and he quickly finds himself in deep with pretty much everyone; including DI Siobhan Clarke. All Rebus wants to do is uncover the truth. The big question is: can he be the man he once was and still stay on the right side of the law?