A sharp detective with a messy life, DCI Vera Stanhope patrols her “patch” of northeast England, pursuing the truth in cases of murder, kidnapping, and blackmail. Vera is obsessive about her work and faces the world with caustic wit, guile and courage.

In a society where the government predicts the genetic intellectual capacity of every newborn child, a pregnant woman's fetus is rated a perfect, but unusual 10.

A failing writer struggles to deal with his rocky mental health and the cold stares of a random woman in a coffee shop, fighting a losing battle to maintain self control.