A policeman's death leads Inspector Celcius Daly across the Irish border and into a labyrinth of lies and corruption.

Daly is in Dreesh, a desolate village where law and order have ground to a halt, and whose residents, ruined by a chain of bankruptcies, have fallen under the spell of a malevolent crime boss with powerful connections. Out of his jurisdiction and out of his comfort zone, Daly is plunged into a shadowy border world of desperate informers, drunken ex-cops, freelance intelligence agents and violent smugglers.

Kept deliberately in the dark by police forces on both sides of the border, Daly's dogged investigation will spark an outbreak of murderous violence as the truth begins to emerge from the shadows.