A teenager gets the fright of his life when he sneaks into a local graveyard for a crafty smoke. He is chased away by a man dressed in black, screaming blue murder.

Rumours of such a local bogeyman have circulated around the northern city of Hafton for years, so the local police are none too amused. But DCI John Blizzard suspects there may be more to the story.

Meanwhile a gang of robbers hold up a store in an escalating crime wave that soon results in a murder.

The community are demanding answers and so is stalwart detective Blizzard. Yet unless he can separate fact from fiction, someone, possibly even the Vengeance Man, may well get away with the worst of crimes.