When the naked body of a young woman is found in the snow at a Norwegian ski resort, Sam Ryan is asked to represent the Townsend family whose daughter Ruth disappeared there several weeks before. The autopsy however reveals that it is in fact the body of Louise Hutton who had vanished there some 15 years previously. When Ruth's body is subsequently found, it appears both girls were strangled in a similar fashion. The police focus their enquiries on Ruth's boyfriend and on Henry Hutton, Louise's uncle while Sam seeks the advice of a university colleague and tries to draw a profile of the serial killer.

Sam learns more about the personality type that has now killed 3 girls.

Harry is shocked when his former university girlfriend, Penny Harris, is brought in dead. She drove her car into a tree and the police initially suspect suicide but the autopsy reveals that the medication in her system was ground rather than in pill form, so they conclude she was likely murdered. Her husband tells the police that he thought his wife was having an affair and her parents react strangely to the news. Leo assists the police in the death of Jimmy Triangle, a conceptual artist whose latest work dealt with the death of conceptual art - and includes his own body, as he is shot through the head. The question is whether the shot was self-inflicted or not.

Nikki and Harry continue to investigate the death of Penny Harris. Harry is shocked to learn that she had apparently at some point in her life had a child but her husband denies any knowledge of such. Another death in the Harris family allows them to narrow the suspects and identify the killer. Leo continues to look for clues and the police think they have solved the case through fingerprint evidence, but Leo is able to prove that the suspect has been framed. The victims penchant for videotaping his activities provides a vital clue.