DCI Monika Paniatowski has seen dozens of murder victims in her time, but nothing could have prepared her for the corpse discovered in the woods that early morning. It is not so much that the man's throat has been viciously slashed that shocks her, nor even the fact that he is naked - it is the way has been carefully posed on his hands and knees. Is the killer sending a message? And if so, for whom is it intended? The investigation is on shaky ground from the start. Paniatowski has been assigned a new sergeant, who she does not entirely trust. Worse yet, an old enemy from the secret service appears on the scene and announces he will be monitoring her every move. But why is a spy interested in a local murder? Then a second victim is found, and it becomes clear to Monika that whatever the murderer's message is, he will not stop killing until she understands.