A helping hand? Or the grip of a murderer? A Glasgow student is found dead in a city-centre alley, kickstarting a trail of brutality that drives DI Ray McBain to the very edge, staring into the abyss... The victim's family and friends are all under suspicion, and McBain has to untangle a sordid web of lies, blackmail, infidelity and cyberstalking. And when Stigmata, a deranged serial killer from McBain's tortured past, starts taking out new victims - with the suspects and McBain himself in his sights - the case gets even more treacherous. The pressure intensifies until McBain calls on Kenny O'Neill, his old underworld crony, to help watch his back. Will that be enough to stop the killing?