 Zatopek (Zet) van Heerden is an ex-cop, a damaged man who describes himself as trash and acts self-destructively. He reluctantly agrees to take on a job for attorney Hope Beneke. Jan Smit, an antiques dealer, has been killed; tortured with a blowtorch then shot in the back of the head. An execution-style murder. The weapon used was an M16, a military gun, favoured by mercenaries. The contents of Smit s safe are missing and that includes his will which is needed to settle his estate. When van Heerden tries to find out more he discovers that Jan Smit had a false ID and sets out to uncover who he was. His investigations lead him into South Africa s murky past and attracts the unwelcome attention of brutal killers. Meyer effectively weaves together the progress of the investigation with van Heerden s account of his life story leading up to the awful events that resulted in his fall from grace and loss of integrity.