After Lynley is reinstated, he, Havers and colleague Detective Constable Winston Nkata (Shaun Parkes) try to catch crime boss Michael Shand (Tom Georgeson), but their star witness is found shot dead on the tidal flats of the Essex marshes, Havers' childhood holiday retreat. When she learns of a 20-year-old unsolved case involving a murdered child, she is convinced that solving the case will provide the answers they need to catch Shand.