London. Detective Chief Inspector Stephen Hay of Scotland Yard heads up the investigation into the puzzling murder of a young Canadian woman travelling alone. Her killer was meticulous, leaving behind a naked, almost serene-looking victim, and no clues.

Ottawa. Royal Canadian Mounted Police inspector Liz Forsyth is assigned to the murder of a young Chechen woman, killed by an unseen gunman at the gates of the Russian Embassy in Ottawa. No one knows who would want to kill her, except, perhaps, the Russians.

Separated by continents and responsibilities to their respective departments, Forsyth and Hay (and their loyal sergeants Ouellette and Wilkins) doggedly work their cases while still feeling the pull of their recent partnership at the Canadian High Commission in London. As Forsyth chases her case further into the complicated world of Russian and Chechen relations, Hay is at a standstill—until the murderer resurfaces.