Manchester private eye Sal Kilkenny has a new client - elegant hotel receptionist Lucy Barker has been receiving offensive poison pen letters, and the strain is starting to show. Meanwhile, Mr and Mrs Ecclestone ask Sal to get some background information to help their house purchase. As she prepares to stake out the streets, a bitter cold snap brings arctic conditions. On the home front, why is Sal's daughter Maddy reluctant to go to school? As her surveillance duties bring a grim discovery, her other problems escalate...and there is one more nightmarish surprise for her.