Inspector John Rebus has done it again. A few days into a murder inquiry following the brutal death of an Edinburgh art dealer, Rebus blows up at his superior, DCS Gill Templer, and is sent into exile: the remote Scottish Police College, where Rebus must undergo "retraining." And he is not alone. At the college, he joins a group of cops equally troubled by authority - the so-called Resurrection Men, granted one last chance to redeem themselves and save their careers. To learn the merits of teamwork, they're supposed to investigate a long-unsolved case.
But there are those on the team who have their own secrets - secrets connected to the very case they've been given - and they'll stop at nothing to protect them. As if that's not enough, the Scottish Crime Squad has a favor to ask of Rebus. They think they've found someone who can help them nail a notorious gangster who has controlled the Edinburgh criminal underground for years. All they need is someone to act as go-between - and they've decided on Rebus, whether he likes it or not.
Back in Edinburgh, with only a bumbling rookie at her side instead of her longtime mentor Rebus, newly promoted Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke works the case of the murdered art dealer, a case that takes a surprising turn toward the very gangster Rebus is pursuing. Soon Siobhan and Rebus find themselves in the thick of a scandal with conspirators in every corner of Scotland, men who have no problem spilling blood to get what they want.