Underneath the shadow of an antique waterwheel in a city park, a young woman's body is found. The case is assigned to Detective Inspector Steve McCarthy, a tenacious cop determined to do whatever it takes to see justice done. His only lead, however, is the woman who found the victim, Suzanne Milner. Battling her own demons, Suzanne is reluctant to get involved and gives McCarthy nothing but maddening evasions to his questions.

Stymied by clues that lead him around blind corners to dead ends, the frustrated DI goes into overdrive when another body bearing an eerie resemblance to the first is found in the same location. To McCarthy's horror, what had seemed like an isolated crime soon reveals itself to be part of a sinister maze of need and desire in which Suzanne's best intentions could lead to her ultimate undoing.