Inspector George Gently

Embittered by the hit-and-run murder of his beloved wife, Gently plans to collect his pension and fade into a lonely retirement. But after learning the whereabouts of his wife's killer-the sadistic criminal mastermind Joe Webster-Gently sets off for Northumbria, bent on justice. There, his investigation leads him to murders among a motorcycle gang, and his reputation as an anticorruption crusader proves threatening to the local constabulary.

Gently and Bacchus try to determine the identity of a body found in a wooded area, shot once through the head and then burned beyond recognition. Their only clue is a gold ring inscribed with the name "Wanda" found in the victim's stomach. Adding to the pressure, a disreputable man named Empton from the Criminal Investigation Department's Special Branch befriends Bacchus and takes a peculiar interest in Gently's investigation.

Shot down over England and billeted with a kindly farm family during the war, pilot Gunter Schmeikel returns to Northumberland to visit his former captors, now his friends. The joyous reunion turns tragic when Schmeikel's body is fished out of the harbor. Investigating the murder, Gently and Bacchus confront long-simmering anti-German sentiments among the locals and Gunter's coldly arrogant son.

Real-estate developer Cora Davidson shows up at her newly purchased property and finds the reluctant seller murdered in his backyard. Gently and Bacchus focus on the mansion's mute gardener, but they soon learn that the house has a sordid history.

A beautiful young woman turns up brutally murdered on the altar of a Newcastle church. Delving into the victim's past, Gently uncovers her connection to Rake's, a swinging gentleman's club that has become a target for religious protesters.

The theft of expired passports-and the subsequent murder of a female clerk-expose potentially explosive ethnic hatred in a seaside town. The victim's boyfriend faces off against a gang of Arab toughs, with Gently and Bacchus caught in the middle.