Ten-year-old Katie Blasko is missing.

Detective Sergeant Ellen Destry, alert to rumours of a child abuse ring operating on the Mornington Peninsula, is thinking abduction. But her colleagues are thinking bad family, truancy, and her boss is only thinking about the media. And everyone, including Destry, is wondering whether she's good enough to handle this without Detective Inspector Hal Challis.

But Challis is miles away, summoned to his childhood home in the outback. So when the body of his missing brother-in-law is found in suspicious circumstances, Challis has his own investigation to pursue. And without each other, both Challis and Destry are worried they're running out of time...