In 1987, Tadgh O'Kelly's graduates as Kilkarney's top cadet in his career as an army forensic investigator. As the years go by, he gradually knits the threads of evidence from numerous kidnappings of women and children into a noose. But finding the guilty neck to tie it around will require all his skill, and not a little help.

Royal Army General Mara Meathe returns to Tara after numerous troubleshooting tasks around the world to face her biggest and deadliest challenges yet. A friend of Mara's, Nellie Hacker, arrives from Tara to her home Earth of Tirdia to assist Day MacAllister with some court-appointed espionage.