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Detectives Janet Scott & Rachel Bailey investigate murders with Manchester Police's Major Incident Team.

After Lynne Stott's body is found wrapped in bin bags on a building site the details lead Janet to believe that she is another victim of the serial killer who murdered Veronica nearly forty years earlier. Rachel meets Martine Cooper, a juror with whom Nick had an affair during a case where his client was acquitted but decides not to use it against him. Instead she follows up Janet's hunch and inadvertently puts her friend in danger as Janet comes face to face with the killer who escapes after seriously wounding her with a knife.

Angry at being dumped by married lover Nick, Manchester detective Rachel Bailey joins married colleague Janet Scott to investigate the murder, made to resemble a suicide, of Emel Yilmatz, a pregnant teen-aged Turkish girl. Somebody had sent her flowers and certainly the simple youth in the flat next door had a crush on her but her husband Gokhan was still in touch with Mana, his girlfriend prior to his arranged marriage, and Mana's embittered attitude makes her a suspect too. Whilst making an arrest Rachel is obsessed with getting revenge on Nick whilst Janet is approached by old friend Geoff to reopen a dead case.

Having coerced Nick into buying her a flat Rachel discovers she is carrying his child but decides against a termination. She also successfully traps the murderer of housewife Susan Metcalfe but gets an unexpected and grisly bonus which leads to another death and another charge. Janet, dreading her wedding anniversary party, presses on with the long cold murder case of her slain school friend Veronica, though the retired officer who passes his files onto her believes she was murdered by a serial killer still at large.

Partly due to Rachel's ex-lover Nick Savage's ruthless courtroom cross-examination of her, his client Georgios Stelikos is found not guilty of the rape of drug addict Hannah Conway and murder of another girl but within days Stelikos is also found murdered. A hung-over and bruised Hannah is brought in for questioning but is she the killer? Rachel miscarries and also loses her flat when Nick claims it back after his wife, learning of his affair, throws him out. She moves in with Janet and her family and takes an interest in the case of Veronica.

Rachel is carpeted by Gill, the inspector, who feels that her affair with Savage was partly responsible for the Stelikos case collapsing. Then nervous Janice Jadzowski reports the disappearance of work colleague Gary Birkinshaw, whom she believes has been killed by his ex-porn star wife Vicky and her 'lodger' Ashad Sodunke. Vicky claims that she did not report his disappearance as she believed he was in Basingstoke with his mistress. Whilst the male officers find her alluring Gill, Janet and Rachel are less convinced of her innocence and Vicky's flirtation with the camera and love of jewellery may prove them right. Sergeant Andy Roper, who once had a fling with Janet, tells her he still has feelings for her.

Three months have elapsed and Janet returns to work. Rachel is living with Nick but Janet feels he is using her to prevent her from reporting his malpractice and, after Rachel is the victim of a hit-and-run linked to a client of Nick's, tells Gill everything. Gill, despite her own problems caused by her vengeful ex-husband, decides against reporting Rachel. Ultimately not only does Janet prove herself to be a good colleague but solves a teenager's murder.