Every year for ten years, a young woman's body was found in Edinburgh at Christmas time: naked, throat slit, body washed clean. Ten years, ten women. The final victim, Kirsty Summers, was Detective Constable Tony McLean's fiancée.

But the Christmas Killer made a mistake. In a cellar under a shop, McLean found a torture chamber and put an end to the brutal killing spree. Twelve years later, and a fellow prisoner has just murdered the incarcerated Christmas Killer.

But with the arrival of the festive season comes a body. A young woman: naked, washed, her throat cut. Is this a copycat killer? Was the wrong man behind bars all this time? Or is there a more sinister, frightening explanation? McLean must revisit the most disturbing case of his life and discover what he missed before the killer strikes again.