Detective Inspector Charlie Priest believes in doing things by the book. It's just that, in the heat of the chase, he sometimes turns over two page at once. His unorthodox but Priest does get results. When he's not putting crooks behind bars, he's watching out for his team of young constables, only too aware that for them, as much as for him, the knockabout humour of the cop-shop is in stark contrast to the dangers they face on the beat.

Sheep stealing and shoplifting are everyday crimes in Heckley, but there are local villains with bigger fish to fry. When Charlie suspects a now-respected businessman, with a background in extortion and GBH, of involvement in international art fraud, he's taking on an enemy with friends in high places. But Charlie can be persistent to the point of recklessness - and, once he's realised that there's a link to the lethal doctored heroin that's striking down the local kids, no threat will stop him.