With Joe now promoted, Vera and her new sergeant, DS Aiden Healy, investigate a fatal explosion at a caravan park that killed Deena Viner, sister of the park's owner, Jim. The mystery deepens when Vera and Aiden discover that Deena died in the caravan before it blew up. First Appearance of DS Aiden Healy and Return of DC Bethany Whelan
The discovery of skeletal remains in Hollowthorp Woods leads to Vera re-opening the case of a seventeen-year-old school girl, Carrie Telling, who went missing some thirty years earlier. Found with the body's remains were a camera, a company credit card and a telephone number for an abortion clinic. When another murder occurs, it becomes apparent to Vera that the killer is somebody who had something to hide thirty years ago. First Appearance of Intelligence Officer Helen Milton
Vera and her team investigate the death of a young man dredged up from a slurry pit. Vera discovers the victim was a traveller who had left his camp following a row with his parents about his being gay. Vera locates the victim's camper van, which contains a wad of notes, suggesting the victim was involved in something illegal. However, it is a deaf little boy who presents Vera with the solution to the case.
Vera must uncover a life of secrets and lies when Owen Thorne, a well-loved family man, plummets to his death from a multi-storey car park.