When student Lisa Johnstone is kidnapped in broad daylight, PC Jackson finds herself at the mercy of two local thugs after trying to intervene, ending with herself being kidnapped too. Meanwhile, music teacher Visha Iqbal is found stabbed in a ditch and a letter is sent to his wife explaining the details of his affair with none other than Lisa Johnstone. As Dalziel and Pascoe run through an everlasting list of suspects, an art dealer whom Pascoe assisted after saving her from a hit and run is found murdered at the bottom of a ravine, with her car having been run off the road. And when a third body, that of arts centre manager Emma Collins is pulled from a nearby river, Dalziel quickly deduces that all three killings and Lisa's kidnapping are all related to the local arts centre. As a scam involving forged 17th century old master drawings comes to light, Dalziel races against time to save Jackson
