Caught between two warring clans, the son of a notorious witch responsible for a deadly massacre tries to find his place in the world — and his powers.

The story opens in the present day, at a high school reunion in the south of France where three former friends reconnect. They grew apart and lost touch, but they are still bound by a tragic secret tied to the disappearance of a high school girl who went missing 25 years ago in the region.

A sharp detective with a messy life, DCI Vera Stanhope patrols her “patch” of northeast England, pursuing the truth in cases of murder, kidnapping, and blackmail. Vera is obsessive about her work and faces the world with caustic wit, guile and courage.

USSR, 1982. Preparing for Orthodox priesthood, a self-righteous theological student's integrity is tested by a KGB agent who threatens to rescind his ordination if he doesn't testify to his roommate's homosexuality.