Jardine and Reid are called in to investigate the Murder of a soldier at a Glasgow barracks. The newly promoted Jardine finds it difficult to work with the army but Reid seems to have an ally in the handsome Major Graham. A link with a seperate case emerges but as the detectives dig deeper and get closer to the truth the body count continues to rise. As the case draws to its gripping finale Jardine and Reid have to act quickly or they could also become victims.

DCI Jardine is hosting the Strathclyde CID Dinner at the Crawford Hotel when the body of the owner is found strangled and dumped in the back lane. A kitchen hand who was behaving strangely immediately becomes the prime suspect. However, he too is murdered before he can be interviewed, and so too is the head chef.