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A skeleton discovered in a building due for demolition leads detectives Cassie Stuart and Sunny Khan into the death of young Jimmy Sullivan, who disappeared in 1976. The final entries in Jimmy's diary contain several names, each of which could be his murderer. These will prove to be Lizzie Wilton, an inspirational youth leader and football coach, married to second generation Jamaican Ray, Sir Philip Cross, a self-made millionaire and government tsar in line for a peerage, wheelchair-bound retired book-keeper Eric Slater, who looks after his wife Claire, a dementia sufferer, and Father Robert Greaves, who, at the time of Jimmy's death, was working in the local church. All four live in different parts of the country and are apparently unknown to each other.
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As Cassie travels to Liverpool for Jimmy's mother Maureen to identify him Sunny and the rest of the team attempt to track down then people named in Jimmy's diary. First to be interviewed is arrogant Philip Cross, who allegedly associated with gangsters in his youth and now is at odds with his son Josh over a business deal. However he claims not to have known Jimmy, as does Lizzie - ironically a former racist. Another name is that of Father Greaves, who ran the hostel where Jimmy stayed and who discovers an apparent burglary at his church centre whilst Eric, who worked at the hostel, struggles to cope with his wife's worsening dementia.
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Lizzie confesses her racist past to husband Ray, unbeknown to her overheard by her football protégé Curtis. She claims not to have known Jimmy. Cross, on the other hand, did but on the advice of lawyer daughter Bella admits nothing. Unfortunately for him a tabloid exposes his past gangster connections leads to police involvement and damage to his business. Eric and Father Greaves claim to have known Jimmy slightly. However Eric recalls Jojo, a girl mentioned in Jimmy's diary as having had sex with Father Greaves, who admits to an affair with her but collapses and is taken to hospital.
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Evidence of torture on Jimmy's body leads Cassie to interview former gangland associate Cross and whilst he pleads ignorance photos sent to his lawyer daughter Bella lay him open to blackmail. Lizzie faces hostility from the football team as Curtis repeats what he overheard and she also admits to robbing Jimmy whilst Eric has a secret from his past as well as causing his sons to wonder how their mother got a bruised face. Greaves confesses his brief affair with Jojo to his family, whilst Jojo herself comes forward. She was under the age of consent at the time and Cassie suspects an altercation between the priest and Jimmy. Then Sunny gets news of another victim.
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After Claire alleges that she saw Eric bury a body in his garden in the 1970s the police unearth the skeleton of a young gay man and Eric is charged with his murder. Lizzie disappears and joins the down and outs though Curtis offers to help Ray to find her. Cross goes to pieces as his past criminal life, when he paid for a man to be murdered, is brought back to haunt him and Father Greaves admits that he staged the burglary and has been regularly stealing money to pay Jojo, who bore him a child Thea and more recently to pay Thea herself. He confesses all to the police.
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Ray and Curtis finally track down Lizzie, who has attempted suicide, leading to forgiveness, reconciliation and triumph though for Sir Philip Cross his principled son ensures that he is punished for his criminal past. Greaves is charged with embezzlement but spared prison if he repays the money and, following a domestic crisis, is able to reconcile his family with Thea. Eric is remanded in custody but Cassie is not convinced of his guilt and as a consequence the double murderer is finally exposed.
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The perfectly preserved remains of a middle-aged man are discovered in a suitcase dredged from a London river. An unusual watch enables Sunny and Cassie to identify him as David Walker, whose wife Tessa reported him missing twenty-six years earlier and who has been murdered. Cassie hopes that a pager found in the skeleton will reveal his most recent callers as she and Sunny travel to the Cotswolds to inform Tessa, a retiring policewoman, now married to Paul Nixon and living with her awkward son Jason. Meanwhile hospital nurse Marion Kelsey and her placid husband Tony fall out with her less than devoted sister Elise over arrangements for her mother's eightieth birthday celebration whilst in Brighton barrister Colin Osborne, hoping to adopt little Flo with his partner Simon, is approached by Flo's natural father Tyler wanting money and in Salisbury ambitious school teacher Sara Mahmoud interviews for a post as head- mistress.
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Whilst Sara celebrates getting a second interview for promotion, Marion feels stressed at home and work and Colin has to admit to Simon that Tyler is blackmailing him, having seen him vandalizing a homophobe's car. Sunny and Cassie interview Tessa, who has been put on restrictive duties and has to break the news of his father's death to Jason, who reacts badly. They also find out from David's pager that shortly before he died he was in touch with Colin and visited Sara, who was working as a prostitute though neither claim to remember him. Then something about his past comes to light which Tessa never told the police.
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As the police learn that David was abused as a boy Colin, against Simon's advice, pays off Tyler and Tessa worries over Jason's reaction to the death of a man he barely knew. Cassie ties Marion up with an address on David's rail card, where she lived when her mother Joy and father were away and finds also that she had links to imprisoned IRA terrorist Sinead Quinn. Unlike Sara, who confesses to husband how she knew David, Marion is unwilling to discuss her past with Tony. Discovering that David had met Colin Cassie gets a surprising admission from the barrister and another one from her father Martin.
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Hassan Mahmoud struggles to understand why Sara had taken to prostitution though she claims she was in Italy when Walker was murdered. Unfortunately they are overheard by their son Yusuf, who tells his brothers Tyler continues to blackmail Colin, who, it turns out, was sacked from his City job for a sexual assault on female colleague Maria whilst Marion is rebuked at work for being overly friendly with cancer patient Zoe, who absconds, causing a row with Tony, not helped when he learns of her relationship with Sinead Quinn. Cassie discovers that Walker was into S and M and sexually attacked a woman on one occasion. He also did charity work with children, confirming Cassie's view that he abused them though Tessa denies all knowledge. However Paul fears that Jason may have inherited his father's traits. One of Walker's victims, Ellen Price, comes forward to tell the police that Walker interfered with her and other children at her care home making Cassie more positive in her belief that ...
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Marion is relieved when Zoe is found but her marriage is still hanging by a thread with accusations of infidelity. Tessa is dealt a double blow when both Tony and Jason leave home and Cassie suggests she was complicit in her late husband's crimes. Ellen identifies the house where Walker abused his victims though the owner at the time is long dead whilst Maria Gonzalez is located and admits that Walker paid her to accuse Colin, still threatened by Tyler, to of raping her. Sara's father reveals her delinquent past but Hassan comes forward with photographic proof of his wife's alibi. Cassie however bleakly predicts that the investigation will provide more bodies.
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After learning the positive outcome of her father's quest Cassie works out that the three suspects did know each other, having met in therapy. From speaking to family members she discovers that all were abused as a child but by a different person and she surmises that the plan was for each to kill one of the other's abuser. At the same time Tessa admits that she knew for certain of an illicit affair her husband had with at least one under-age girl but the damaged Jason is rescued by Cath's concern and Elise, finally aware of the pain Marion has carried for years, reconciles with her sister. With her theory now more or less made concrete Cassie must debate with Sunny if, in the light of the trio's terrible experiences, there is any worth in prosecuting them or merely leaving the case open.
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When the twenty year old remains of a young woman are unearthed by workmen Cassie and Sunny become involved. All they can deduce is that she broke her arm whilst on vacation in Cyprus but this leads to identifying her. In Sussex doctor Tim Finch faces an accusation by patient's daughter Alison Pinion and television host James Hollis searches for his missing son Elliot in London. Meanwhile struggling salesman Pete Carr is finding it difficult to make ends meet for his family and in Bristol artist Chris Lowe makes a marriage proposal. One of these men will have a connection to the dead girl Hayley Reid.
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Cassie and Sunny learn that Hayley, who was strangled, was a twin with sister Jessica before they are given a lead linking her to a holiday let where she worked. Having been cleared of malpractice Tim helps the fragile Chris when his old school-friend is burgled though there is good news for Chris from girlfriend Jamila. Pete has no such luck as his fraud is discovered whilst James tries to understand why his son Elliot wants a sex change operation. Then one of them receives a visit from the police.
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The Reids are upset by vicious comments about them posted by blogger Sandra Rayworth. Meanwhile James tells Sunny and Cassie that he rented the cottage where Hayley worked, along with Tim, Chris and Pete, all four of whom once lived near to where Hayley's remains were found. Chris owns up about his troubled past to Jamila whilst Tim bails Pete out of trouble. All the men are interviewed by the police though there is another suspect. However James' ex-wife Mel drops a bombshell which does none of the four any good. At home Cassie has concerns about her father Martin's mental health.
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Mel Hollis's account convinces Cassie that all four men were lying, particularly Pete, whose criminal past makes him the prime suspect and ends his marriage. However Tim's first wife Derran - who stayed at the cottage let with him - paints a less than flattering picture of him whilst Chris's estranged daughter Maya also reveals her father's dark secret. Cassie loses the file on Pete as he prepares to leave the country, having passed on a message about Elliot but Sandra Rayworth's toxic web-site marks him out as a victim.
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Following the murderous attack on Pete Sandra Rayworth is charged with incitement. Cassie finds evidence to incriminate Elliot, though only fifteen at the time of Hayley's death, but James quizzes him and brings him to the police, who dismiss him from their enquiries. Chris makes a startling confession whilst Tim's daughter Emma learns the truth about her father's violence from Derran just before an arrest is made for Hayley's murder.
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One suspect is now dead and another in custody but evidence found at his flat is dismissed by Mrs Reid as not belonging to Hayley. However it does connect to another unsolved murder and a shocking admission follows, finally closing the case. Meanwhile the remaining two men find positive support through two women in their lives, ending their torment.
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