Drug swamp, gang warfare, and police corruption in Manchester - "A powerhouse of a thriller." (Val McDermid) Isabelle Rossiter, the daughter of an influential politician, has run away from home. Detective Aidan Waits, having fallen out of favor with his superiors, is tasked with finding her. His search through the nighttime streets of Manchester leads him into a mire of drugs and violence: apparently, a powerful dealer is using underage girls as couriers, and not just one of them has gone missing. Aidan realizes that Isabelle has deliberately gone underground to save her life. And his own hangs by a thread... "Knox portrays Manchester as vividly and uncompromisingly as Ian Rankin does his Edinburgh." Guardian.