Rebus finds himself being investigated by an old friend after a murderer walks free on a technicality. Matters are made worse when the suspect and his brother are found dead, and the prosecutor in the case is found to have been paid off to discredit Rebus and his colleagues.

Rebus is forced to attend a training course at police school following a public outburst, with his colleagues unaware that he is actually out to expose two corrupt police officers who have been running a protection racket, and could possibly be linked to the murder of a drug dealer.

The detective angers his superiors when he tries to connect a member of Edinburgh's criminal fraternity to the shooting of two boys and a teacher at a local college. One of the victims turns out to be the son of Rebus's cousin, giving Templar the perfect reason to take him off the case. However, the copper is determined to trace a schoolgirl he is certain holds the key to the mystery.

The motto of the Scottish kings - Nemo mi impune lacessit ("Don't Mess With Me") sets the tone for this story. It's payback time for DI John Rebus in his pact with the crime underlord Morris Gerald Cafferty for his finding the person who put Rebus' daughter in a life-threatening coma, the result of a hit-and-run accident. This time, it's Cafferty's illegitimate son who was "six-packed" and killed, and Cafferty is calling in his chips from Rebus. Rebus has to cope with a backdrop of gun running, jailbreaks, left- and right-wing extremists, nationalists and other splinter groups who are spouting racist philosophies, and imported white-power fanatics who are perpetrating hate crimes.

Rebus investigates when a number of women are killed with the same modus operandi as 'The Preacher', a prolific serial killer active in Edinburgh during the 1980s. But is a copycat killer at large, or has 'The Preacher' returned to finish what he started?

Rebus investigates a series of murders where the killer leaves distinctive clues by the butchered bodies of his victims.

Rebus is called to investigate when the naked body of the Moderator Elect of the Church of Scotland is found in a local cruising spot with the body of a naked woman. Forced to deal with ongoing political battles between the church and its ministers, Rebus must solve the case in time for the gathering of the General Assembly.

The body of a missing prostitute is found, and the circumstances recall an unsolved murder from twenty years before. Rebus is convinced that the prime suspect from the earlier case has struck again.