In the second book of Simon Beckett's thriller/detective series, London-based forensic anthropologist Dr. David Hunter travels to the remote island of Runa in the Scottish Hebrides. He investigates a suspiciously burned body that had been discovered in a rural hut by ex-cop Andrew Brody. The island's small, insular, and secretive population becomes embroiled in a murder investigation which unravels as a result of old feuds among the citizens, incompetent management by the local police, unrelenting stormy weather, and nefarious subterfuge by the murderous elements. Chaos envelops the island; the body count increases; and Hunter, caught in a vortex of spiraling violence and pyrotechnics, barely escapes Runa alive.
