A scandalous affair, a sports icon, and the torching of a house compel Inspector Lynley (Nathaniel Parker) to break the rules to force the killer out in to the open.
The relationship between Lynley and Helen reaches an all-time low when Helen gets involved in a kidnapping case without informing the police of the kidnapping. Lynley and Havers investigate a case of kidnapping and murder involving the secret child of a member of parliament and a newspaper editor. Lynley asks Helen to marry him.
Lynley returns to his ancestral home in Cornwall to celebrate his engagement to Helen. His difficult relationship with his dysfunctional family is soon overshadowed by a murder on part of his own estate - and the chief suspect is Peter, Lynley's drug-addict brother.
The body of a young Asian man is found on the beach at the seaside town of Balford-le-Nez, leading the police into a web of racial tensions, family loyalties and illicit sexuality in investigating the murder. Havers has time on her hands while Lynley is on honeymoon in Peru, and when she finds the Balford-le-Nez investigation is being run by a friend she joins the hunt.
Two bodies are found in the middle of a stone circle near Manchester. One of them was the daughter of a retired police officer who lives in a nearby village, while the other was a local artist. Lynley is despatched from London to help. Havers, newly demoted and back in uniform, is back on the beat. Lynley pulls somes strings to allow her to join and help with admin only. As Lynley investigates the girls background her secret life is revealed. But Havers is not convinced that she was the key and starts her own investigation, despite being told not to. In the end Havers finds an important clue which leads to the killer.
A famous violinist appearing at the Wigmore Hall, London, suddenly can't play any more, and away from the city centre a his estranged mother his murdered in a hit and run. Havers tenders her resignation from the police but Lynley involves her in the case to make her reconsider. They discover that the murders are linked to the death of the violinists baby sister 20yrs ago. But two more people are killed before they catch the killer.
A woman is found dead, and it looks as if she committed suicide. But Havers has doubts. The police investigation leads Lynley to a private club, while Havers goes undercover. The true motive for the death affects Lynley deeply.
Lynley and Havers investigate the murder of Professor Dermot Finnegan, an old friend and mentor of Helen's who has been killed by a car bomb. Helen, who is pregnant, is later attacked in her car, and on admission to hospital her baby is found to have died. Havers searches Finnegan's office and finds love letters from several women - including one from Helen. She suggests that Lynley should be taken off the case, but he is determined to go on with it for the sake of Helen. In the end, Lynley has a shocking confrontation with the killer.
Havers starts off without a partner due to Lynley's arrest and suspension for threatening a suspect. She begins a case in Kent along side a serious and pregnant Detective Inspector Fiona Knight. They investigate the murder of Edie Covington, whose body has been discovered in a lake nearby. Meanwhile, Lynley attends a disciplinary hearing to determine whether he can return back to work and he begins to help Havers and Knight. But a kidnap occurs and another body is found and so Lynley's unofficial involvement in the case might jeopardise his efforts to be reinstated.
The detectives' case against a violent criminal is thrown into jeopardy by the murder of a key witness. Determined to secure a conviction, they immerse themselves in the seedy underworld of a seaside town, and as they press for answers, Havers is brought face to face with her childhood memories.
Lynley and Havers investigate when young lawyer Emily Proctor is found axed to death in Hyde Park. They are led to the chambers of a human rights barrister who was having an affair with her, and it isn't long before the victim's seedy double life involving Internet porn and dark family secrets emerges.
Lynley and Havers look into the death of a former war photographer who was beaten and shot in Soho, London.
Lynley's godson's body is found 12 years after he went missing. When his sister is murdered Lynley finds himself becoming one of the suspects accused of the murders.
Lynley investigates the disappearance of a girl who went missing without her insulin she needs.