Can a washed-up detective recover from a bullet-shattered hip, damaged reputation, broken heart and impending mid-life crisis? Does Bournemouth hold the answer?
Rob Trent is frightened, insecure, intolerant, vulnerable and a bit of a drama queen; just normal then for a bloke pushing forty. Parting from his soul mate Sarah makes life unbearable for Trent, as well as for the people who have to work with him in New Scotland Yard's Bloc-Busters squad. Self-pity leads to neglect of himself and his work, and he is shot during a raid on a gang of human traffickers.
Convalescing in his home town of Bournemouth, he tries to rid himself of his demons as well as his crutches. The local CID boss thinks Trent's salvation will come through helping his own depleted squad. Reluctantly Trent agrees and is soon investigating the murders of an ABBA tribute band musician, two young women, a B&B landlady, the suicide of a model from the archives and human remains found at her stately home.
His multi-tasking malaise isn't helped by a middle-aged Detective Constable trying to re-invent himself, a policewoman who thinks he's Mr Right and a ne'er-do-well Detective Inspector convinced that Trent is agent provocateur. To solve anything Trent needs more bodies, but he just keeps finding dead ones.