On an icy morning in January, a body is discovered at the bottom of the Wishing Steps at Blarney Castle, seemingly the tragic death by falling of a young tourist. Jessie DeMarco had travelled to the Cork village in search of the father she'd never known, bringing only a name and general location of his whereabouts. When her bereft mother Dani arrives from America to identify Jessie's body, she brings with her a story of this man's past that will soon lead to shocking accusations - and fervent denials. Convinced that her daughter's death was not accidental, Dani sets about uncovering evidence, as the local community begins to take sides. But who to believe - the highly respected man they have known all their lives, or a devastated mother with nothing to lose?
As Jaq is pulled further into a murky underworld of deceit and corruption, things take an explosive turn...
After escaping almost certain death amidst the ruins of Chernobyl, Jaq finds herself in even hotter water. Deep in debt, she decides to take on a risky contract in China. But when her former student and the chemical factory she was meant to be investigating both mysteriously disappear, she realises nothing is as it seems.
From fraudulent art auctions in London to a troupe of male strippers in Shanghai, the mystery of the vanishing factory begins to look ever more complicated as the days pass. Can Jaq work out what happened - and whether it has anything to do with her nemesis Frank Good - before time runs out?