When a body is discovered beneath the waves off Scolt Head Island, the contents of the dead man's pockets lead Detective Inspector Peter Shaw to suspect an outbreak of 'samphire wars' a turf battle for control of the prized sea asparagus which sells for a small fortune along the affluent North Norfolk coast. Or does the killer merely want it to look that way?

Meanwhile, Detective Sergeant George Valentine is investigating a series of break-ins targeted at wealthy second-home owners. And a lethal strain of adulterated cocaine is flooding the streets of nearby Lynn, leaving devastation in its wake.

Then the second body is found - and the simmering tensions underpinning this remote coastal community come bursting into the open ... with devastating consequences.