London. In a peaceful residential area, a woman is doused with acid and brutally murdered. The police have no leads. No one seems to have had a reason to harm the teacher. However, her partner was a police officer investigating a series of unsolved cases, all pointing to organized honor killings. Tom Thorne takes on the investigation and enters a dangerous world where families have their own laws. Thorne is determined to prevent parents from becoming murderers of their own children in the name of honor - and must learn what it means when love turns to blood. Usually, bestselling author Mark Billingham invents the cases that captivate his readers. But this book is different. It is based on true events that continue to haunt him to this day.