Dublin of the 50s. A city whose quiet streets sometimes resemble a labyrinth of cruel and dark secrets. Here robberies and murders occur every day, and human life is very inexpensive. The talented pathologist Quirk, who lost his wife fifteen years ago, is firmly convinced of this .One night, he finds his half-brother Mel in his office, falsifying the death certificate of a young woman. Quirke finds out that the diagnosis was completely incorrect, and the unfortunate woman died during childbirth. A fatal medical error? Was Mel, a famous obstetrician in the city, trying to save his professional career? Or is it something completely different? Quirke begins his own investigation - and soon realizes that behind everything that is happening there are rich and influential people who will do anything to ensure that their secrets never see the light of day...