Inspector Hal Challis is in bed with Sergeant Ellen Destry when he gets a telephone call informing him that a man has been beaten nearly to death. Challis has been notified because the victim is the chaplain at a prestigious boarding school and has ties to powerful local politicians. It turns out that he is also the head of a fundamentalist church. Before Challis can complete his investigation, another, seemingly unrelated, crime occurs. A distraught...

A pair of hit men working a job for a meth kingpin have a very bad day, and the resulting bushfire draws attention to a drug lab and two burned bodies in a Mercedes. With meth-related crime on the rise, interdepartmental tensions mount, and Inspector Hall Challis soon finds himself fighting to keep control of his case. Meanwhile, Sergeant Ellen Destry is hunting for a serial rapist who is extremely adept at not leaving clues--