It's 1985 and Denise Woods starts life as an idealistic young WPC for the Metropolitan Police, fighting sexism and her mother's disappointment with her career choice. Working with the handsome young plain clothes Detective Sergeant Ray Deans, she quickly becomes emotionally involved in the rape and murder of fifteen-year old Amy Reid, whom she happened to meet the night before she was killed. As the investigation hits a brick wall amid the chaos of the Barstow Riots, she successfully plants evidence that implicates the man she believes is responsible.