Only five years into his life sentence for killing his aunt and uncle, a crime committed when he discovered their abuse of his sister, John Mercer is released from prison.

Following the death of the head of a notorious crime family, Lenny visits his successor, the police mole Jude Cassidy.

Lenny is alerted to the recent arrival of a notorious Albanian gangster Tarek Sokoli. Sokoli wants to put down roots in his new homeland and that includes running drugs and prostitution rackets.

Calum has made Mercer some tea. Problem is that it’s burned and totally lacking in nutritonal value. So off they go to the supermarket. Calum is amazed Mercer knows so much about cooking.

John Mercer’s predecessor, Patrick Finch, has gone on a vigilante-style rampage, meting out his particular brand of justice against drug-dealers and prostitutes. He is working on his own and he’s making newspaper headlines. It’s time to put the brakes on Finch.

Lenny is delicately closing the net on the powerful jury-fixer, Richard Blakeney. But when Mercer discovers just how deeply Rose is involved in the operation, and how much Lenny has been holding back, he vows revenge. As Blakeney tempts the disaffected Mercer into working for him - and getting rid of Lenny - Mercer is left to make a decision that could cost the lives of all he holds dear.