After the body of a young nurse is found ‘posed’ at Sydney’s famous Opera House, Detectives Caroline Henners and Jesse Moore must hunt down this sadistic and methodical killer before he strikes again.

SYNOPSIS:

The body of a young nurse is found posed on the steps of the Sydney Opera House. Her throat is cut, and body drained of blood. The press link it to a terror-related incident in the UK, where a nurse was stabbed out the front of parliament. Detectives Caroline Henners and Jesse Moore, from the Rocks Precinct Police Station, are assigned the case amid political pressure to solve it quickly. Sydney is six months out from hosting the G2 Summit, and the world is watching. But, Caroline isn’t convinced this is terrorism.

The investigation garners more public attention, and evidence of political cover-ups, terrorist cells, bikie gangs and high-level corruption steer the team down dangerous paths. As detectives close in on a strong suspect, another body is discovered. A local fireman from Caroline’s own community is found hanging on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, throat cut, and body drained of blood. Someone is making a statement.

As Caroline faces increasing pressure from the Australian Federal Police (AFP), who want to assume control of the investigation, a letter is received at a television station with the letters P. S. K. written in blood. The DNA from the first two letters matches the two victims, respectively. The third letter, however, contains DNA from another person. Although the press don’t know about the DNA, they dub the perpetrator the ‘Public Servant Killer’.

More bodies are found at high-profile, public landmarks including an ambulance officer, a school principal, and a young NSW detective from the Child Abuse squad, who is the son of Bill McKennay, the head of Protective Security Intelligence for the AFP. With no tangible leads, Caroline feels that the case is slipping through her fingers, however she has bigger issues – she is diagnosed with Stage II Breast Cancer after a routine scan.

Fresh terror threats come to light as the Secret Service arrives in Sydney to start preparations for the G2 Summit. Meanwhile, Caroline’s 12 year old daughter, Ellie, befriends a man in a white van who offers to drive her home from school. Caroline’s team are forced to act only in a supporting role to the AFP, who are focussed on just one line of enquiry – terrorism. To exasperate matters, the NSW Premier goes missing.

News comes to light of Ellie’s ‘friend’ and he is discovered to be a known paedophile and sex offender, with links to the first victim. The Federal Police are poised to arrest a different suspect, so Caroline’s team moves in to take down their man. Both Federal and State agencies make their play, and both suspects are neutralised, however the Premier is not found.

When the dust settles, Caroline is not convinced that either side has caught the perpetrator, and an ambiguous clue from the first murder leads them to a derelict building in an old Mental Hospital in the inner west of Sydney. Caroline and Jesse investigate and find themselves deep in the bowels of the old asylum. When they inadvertently enter the morgue, a large steel door closes behind them. The Premier is there. Handcuffed to pipes. He is alive. And there is one more person in the cold, dark room.