 The discovery of a skeleton deep underground in a mine shaft brings Dalziel and Pascoe to the Yorkshire coalfield. When the body is confirmed as a man missing for ten years they realise that they have a murder to investigate. Raking over the past proves difficult for the local population as old wounds are re-opened and old grievances come to the fore. As the investigation progresses the acrimony increases and various relationships come under strain. As the police home in on the culprit the locals take the law into their own hands with tragic consequences.