Shock revelations surrounding Abi's death cause tremors as Ellis pushes further into the case. Can the DCI unpick the mystery before the secrets of the village consume everyone? 

A community is shaken when a student is found crushed in a warehouse. As loyalty and fear bind the locals, Ellis suspects the victim was about to expose a huge scandal.

Peter's death continues to cast a lingering shadow over Ashenham. With most leads exhausted, the case threatens to stall completely, and the truth seems further away than ever. Just as Ellis and Harper find themselves at a critical stage in the investigation, the sudden disappearance of a local boy ignites a new urgency, pulling Ellis and Harper back into a desperate search that suggests the answers they seek may still be within reach.

Their search draws them to Ash Tor – an imposing landmark steeped in local history. Among its lichen-covered rocks, Ellis begins to sense an unsettling connection between the past and present. What once seemed like isolated events start to form part of a much larger, more intricate pattern. While following this line of enquiry, an unexpected figure emerges, offering the possibility of insight into Peter's final hours. Yet this fragile thread of hope comes with its own challenges. Extracting the truth requires not interrogation, but empathy, patience, and a delicate hand. For Ellis, it becomes a test not only of her instincts, but of her capacity for compassion, and her ability to read between the lines of what is spoken and what is left unsaid.

Forced to reassess everything she has uncovered so far, Ellis confronts a landscape shaped by contradictions, half-truths, and quiet evasions. What began as a straightforward pursuit of justice evolves into something far more unsettling: an unravelling of the stories, loyalties, and myths that have long defined Ashenham.

When the body of Peter Barron, a respected local businessman, is discovered in the tiny village of Ashenham, shock quickly turns to suspicion. The local force is out of their depth, and ACC Leighton wastes no time in parachuting in Ellis and Harper. With her forensic eye, Ellis recognises the situation for what it is: murder. Pushing past the limited resources of the local force and resistance in the community, she's determined to unearth what really happened.

The owner of a thriving plant nursery and a well-known philanthropist whose influence reached far throughout the community; Peter was once a beloved figure. However, a recent decision to launch a prison work release scheme has caused outrage. For some, the scheme was a natural continuation of Peter's charity work, but for others, the idea of criminals integrating into their idyllic community was a step too far. And Peter, previously a unifying presence, found himself at the centre of a divided village with many wanting to see him held accountable.

With emotions running high, the inexperienced local officers are keen to narrow in on a prime suspect and bring the case to a close. But as Ellis digs deeper, she uncovers secrets closer to home: a close friend with a chequered past, a daughter paralysed with grief and an ex-flame embittered with resentment. Peter's murder brings old grudges, hidden pasts, and dangerous resentments to the surface, and the more Ellis uncovers, the more tangled the picture becomes.

In Ashenham, long held grievances simmer just beneath the surface, and Ellis is determined to drag them into the open. In the end, one question towers over Ellis' investigation: was Peter killed for his ideals, or does the answer lie in his own circle, among those who knew him best?