When Jack Blake picks up a woman and her daughter stranded when their car breaks down, he is struck by the daughter's resemblance to his own murdered child. Jack sees an opportunity to unwittingly involve both women in a scheme which he hopes will unmask his daughter's killer. Written

Myra is a teen prostitute and Charlie a recently released young offender. Together they begin an affair "amid the sleaze of London street-life". Myras' jealous pimp, Frank is not amused.

Morse and Lewis investigate the murder of wealthy industrialist Sir John Balcombe. There is little love lost in the Balcombe family and no great remorse when Sir John is found dead, obviously bludgeoned to death. The dead man's wife and two sons all seem worried about other things. To Morse's annoyance, there is a great deal of media coverage, some of it quite personal. He also comes under pressure from his superior, Chief Supt. Alun Armstrong, to produce results. When a second murder occurs on the Balcombe estate, Morse begins to focus on the family's history and learns that Mrs. Balcombe has a little known secret in her past.

When John Peter Barrie escapes from a maximum security mental institution, the police assign all available resources to finding him. Barrie is a dangerous sex offender known as the Devil's Disciple. Morse is assisted by Barrie's psychiatrist, Dr. Esther Martin. Barrie contacts Morse and they begin a deadly game of cat and mouse. When Morse refuses to play the game Barrie's way, the madman kidnaps a woman and demands that Dr. Martin be held for a future exchange. As the investigation proceeds, Morse believes Barrie has accomplices in the area but after a local cultist is killed, he realizes he has been looking in wrong direction all along.

Lewis and Hathaway investigate the murder of Dean Greely. As the investigation continues, they discover that Greely and three other men had formed a club during their Oxford student days, the Sons of the Twice Born. Today, the men have little contact with one another and initially deny that their club existed. When a second member of the foursome is murdered, it becomes apparent the they have a secret, one from 30 years ago and that someone is out for revenge.