When building work at an abandoned cottage unearths the hidden remains of a child, local coroner Jane Kennedy is called in and soon uncovers other well-kept family secrets.
In order to explain the sudden death of a reclusive woman living at a remote address near Lighthaven, Jane must first solve the mysterious disappearance of a notorious, aristocratic playboy decades earlier.
The annual Lighthaven Pirate Festival provides the perfect cover for a daring robbery, Davey gives chase while Jane tries to discover why a faceless man has washed up on the beach.
Jane tackles the mystery of a window cleaner who is found dead next to a Porsche that he does not own, with suspicion falling upon a property entrepreneur she believes is hiding something from her.
The crime drama set on the South Devon coast returns, and Jane's fear of heights is tested when she and Davey investigate a skydiving accident and discover that someone has tampered with the victim's parachute.
A death in custody takes Jane into prison, where she comes face-to-face with notorious child killer Sidney Sutton. She begins to hope that she may be able to use this case to find the final resting place of his teenage victim.