In the bay of a small coastal town in Cornwall, a dead dog and the body of a man, both brutally mutilated, wash ashore within a short period of time. The murder case shakes the peaceful village to its core and demands everything from Detective Inspector Collin Brown. His beloved sculpting and even his family now take a back seat. He discovers that the deceased was a Scottish millionaire, about whom no one seems to know much. A lead points to Anthony Polodny, the recently deceased son of a Polish immigrant. But what connection existed between these two very different men? The detective hopes to find help from Elizabeth Polodny, who has traveled from Australia to her English homeland for her brother's funeral. It soon becomes clear that the key to solving the case lies in the past of the Polodny family. A bloody trail.