Little Gloria Summers' body has been found, hidden inside two plastic bin bags in a disused warehouse. Somewhere in the city, a child killer is on the loose, free to strike again. Then Emily Morrison vanishes on a sunny Sunday afternoon. A week later there are still no clues.

Inspector Charlie Resnick is as appalled as the media. But years of patient police work have taught him a thing or two - including his conviction that those who jump to easy conclusions are often the last ones to solve a crime.