Ending his secondment to London's Met Police, Roy Grace gets a tip-off
about a county lines drugs mastermind operating out of Brighton. On his
first day back in his old job in Sussex, he is called to a seemingly
senseless murder.
Separately, Meg Magellan finally has her life back together, five years
after the car crash that killed her husband and their son. Her daughter,
Laura, now 18, is on her gap year traveling in South America with a
friend, and Meg misses her badly. Laura is all she has in the world.
In between jobs, Meg receives a summons for jury service. She's
excited--it might be interesting and will help distract her from
constantly worrying about Laura. But when she is selected for the trial
of a major Brighton drugs overlord, everything changes.
Gradually, Grace's investigation draws him increasingly into the
sinister sphere of influence of the drug dealer on trial. A man utterly
ruthless and evil, prepared to order the death of anyone it takes to
enable him to walk free.
Just a few days into jury service, Meg arrives home to find a photograph
of Laura, in Ecuador, lying on her kitchen table. Then her phone rings.
A sinister, threatening stranger is on the line. He tells her that if
she ever wants to see Laura alive again, it is very simple. At the end
of the trial, all she has to do is make sure the jury says just two
words . . . Not guilty.
