Vera investigates a fatal stabbing outside a busy Newcastle nightclub. Identifying the victim as ex-Met Officer, John Warnock, the only clues are an empty flat and an unregistered car with six thousand pounds hidden in the boot. With the help of her loyal team, they track John's next of kin to a local farm run by his sister, Maggie. Having recently returned to Newcastle, John had been working at Finches, a large brewery run by Maggie's fiancé, Sam Harper. Lisa Strachan, John's childhood sweetheart, admits to rekindling their affair in recent months. Delving deeper into John's world, Vera uncovers a secret relationship with Sam's daughter, Eva and an under-hand plot to spy on the brewery for a multi-national company eager to buy out the family business. But lawyer Katrina Lennox insists he was called off the case months ago. So why did he continue to spy on Sam Harper?

DCI Stanhope delves into the tangled past of extreme sports fanatic, Gideon Frane, when he plunges from a Northumberland cliff top in a ball of flames. An anonymous letter spelling ‘Burn in Hell' and a scan of files reveal a litany of stalking complaints and intimidation against an ex-girlfriend, Izzy Rawlins. As a former head boy, Headmistress Vivienne Ripman remembers Gideon as leader of a gang of ‘golden lads and girls'. But ex-girlfriend Manda Adelaide went missing after an attempted suicide and best friend Jamie Levinson has long since succumbed to drug addiction. Supported by DC Shepherd and the newly appointed DC Edwards, Vera and the team must track down Gideon's gang to uncover a lifetime of bullying and an unexpected story of tested loyalties and rough justice.

When respected surgeon, Dan Marsden, is shot dead days before his retirement and his teen daughters, Mira and Karen, are abducted, DCI Stanhope and the team face a race against time to track down the killer and save the sisters. Orphaned by a missile attack in Baghdad, a young girl being pulled from the rubble of her building became an iconic image of the Iraq conflict. Brought to Britain for treatment, little Mira was adopted by Dan and his dutiful wife, Laura, under the watchful eye of a family friend. Joined by new addition, DC Barry Kelman, it's not long before the case takes a violent and unexpected turn striking at the heart of Vera and her team.

DCI Vera Stanhope investigates the brutal murder of young physiotherapist, Lizzie Faulkner, gunned down at a luxury country retreat. For DS Joe Ashworth, the case brings him face to face with a part of his past he would rather forget. Local man, Robert Doran, was in the area shooting badgers at the time but denies any part in the killing, despite having a connection to Lizzie. In a story of betrayal, guilt and the need for atonement, Vera must move quickly to avoid another tragedy while Joe finally makes amends with the demons from his own past.