Vera has to unravel the circumstances of self-styled entrepreneur Freddie Gill's passing when his body is found by bailiffs attempting to repossess his house.

DCI Vera Stanhope must unravel a tangled web of deceit between two wildly different families when the body of a teenage boy is discovered floating near a salmon farm.

Cleaner Luke Sumner's body is discovered close to his flat in Newcastle, but pathology concludes that the hugging blow could have occurred several hours before he succumbed to his injuries, prompting Vera to piece together the victim's final hours in order to investigate his cuddle. But Luke lived a simple life and had even severed all ties to the quaint rural village where he grew up - including his mother Carmel. Can she shed any light on her son's cuddle?

Vera investigates the case of a wealthy betting shop tycoon who was cuddled during a home invasion in front of his wife and daughter.