 Peter Lawson is a pawnbroker with a difficult family life. His father, retired after a long career in the army, is a demanding patriarch and his oldest children hate him. An armed robbery at his shop brings DI Jack Frost, now reunited with DS Clive Barnard, onto the case but all does sit well with the police. When Lawson is murdered a few days later, Frost and Barnard uncover a case of child abuse that has gone on for years. The ensuing investigation leads to a tragedy that will long affect the police and Jack in particular. At the Station, Supt. Mullett is being forced to cut his budget and has his eyes squarely set on making Jack redundant.