The police may have a serial killer on their hands when they locate a second body in a site where the first victim was found several months before. The body was trussed up in the same way and had an identical burn mark on his back. There is no apparent link between the first victim, student Michael Haughty, and the second Jason Villers, a probationer at the police college. While the police find evidence that may solve the Otty case, they have nothing on the Villers murder. In a separate case, Harry is approached by the wife of an old university friend who asks him to perform a post-mortem on her husband who died in a fall. Harry finds that his old friend was injecting himself regularly. Leo's family is visiting for a few days but he's constantly being called into work.

The pathologists busy week continues with a variety of cases. Nikki examines a death in a telemarketing office. Several workers were vying for promotion and the police suspect foul play. Harry deals with the case of a professional footballer who committed suicide. He realizes there is a link to another case he is working on. Leo deals with the case of a drunk who died on a bus. There is little information about the man and the case becomes more of a puzzle when the autopsy reveals that he wasn't drunk at all.

In her efforts to help Naomi, Nikki believes that Silverlake was self-medicating with an untried depression cure though his widow denies it and a representative of the pill company, posing as a health inspector, tries to have Nikki taken off the case. After she is arrested for shop-lifting and feels perpetually tired, Nikki is referred to a psychiatrist who diagnoses depression. Naomi is highly supportive throughout but, at the hospital, the police make a frightening discovery which questions Naomi's motivation. Even after the real murderer is punished another death occurs, leading to closure for Nikki.