A skinny young boy is found dead - his body carelessly stuffed into wheelie bin. Detective Superintendent Alan Banks and his team are called to investigate.

Who is the boy, and where did he come from? Was he discarded as rubbish, or left as a warning to someone? He looks Middle Eastern, but no one on the East Side Estate has seen him before. As the local press seize upon an illegal immigrant angle, and the national media the story of another stabbing, the police are called to investigate a less newsworthy death: a middle-aged heroin addict found dead of an overdose in another estate, scheduled for redevelopment. Banks finds the threads of each case seem to be connected to the other, and to the dark side of organised crime in Eastvale.

Does another thread link to his friend Zelda, who is facing her own dark side? The truth may be more complex - or much simpler - than it seems...