Struggling through another Edinburgh winter, Rebus finds himself sucked into a web of intrigue that throws up more questions than answers. Was the Lord Provost's daughter kidnapped, or is she just another runaway? Why should Councillor Tom Gillespie be shredding documents that were waste paper from a fraud case years ago? And why is Rebus himself suddenly invited to a clay pigeon shoot at the stately home of the Scottish Office's Permanent Secretary, Sir Iain Hunter?

Pulled into the machine which is modern Scotland, Rebus is confronted by the fact that some of his enemies may be beyond his reach, perhaps even beyond justice.

'Rebus is real, made so by Rankin's taut and witty dialogue, and now by Bill Paterson's marvellous reading.'- The Times

'For all the right reasons, Rebus calls for comparison with Morse.' - Publishers' Weekly

Bill Paterson first appeared on the professional stage at the Citizens Theatre in his native Glasgow in 1967. Since then he has worked in such memorable productions as the original Guys and Dolls at the National Theatre and Death and the Maiden at: the Royal Court. Television work includes Wives and Daughters, Auf Wiedersehen Pet and Trafjik, and films include The Killing Fields, Comfort and Joy and Truly, Madly. Deeply.