Two seven-year-old boys have been abducted from the streets of Glasgow. Both had already endured years of neglect and betrayal. But for Detective Inspector Colin Anderson the case is especially disturbing, because the boys look so much like his own son Peter . . .

With police resources stretched to breaking point, a simple house fire turns into a full-scale investigation. An invisible killer is picking off victims at random and, if Detective Sergeant Costello's hunch is correct, committing an ingenious deception. As his squad struggles to work both cases, DI Anderson learns that duplicity and betrayal come in many guises. While the boys’ abductor is still out there no child is safe, as young Peter Anderson is about to find out.