A Nigerian born detective sergeant working for the Metropolitan Police is found unconscious in her own flat and ends up in hospital where she dies of her injury. The post-mortem reveals that the subdural hematoma is the result of a blow to her head. DI Thomas Lynley, DS Barbara Havers and DS Winston Nkata are called in to investigate a case that touches upon not only the work and the life of the murdered detective but also upon a controversial cultural tradition that damages and often destroys the future of everyone it involves.