This is a breathlessly pitched police thriller dealing with murder and protection, full of intrigue and narrative twists portraying a murky world populated by vivid, deeply flawed characters, nightmares and flashbacks. The action switches between Cardiff and London. Powerfully written and uncompromising in its style the author makes use of various games, such as squash and chess, as a metaphorical sub-plot that registers the various psychological maneuvers of the characters as they negotiate a world in which no-one is what they seem - inadequate police, psychopaths - inadequate police who are psychopaths, sexual deviants, and torture-junkies.