In Whitby, on the edge of a cliff, a woman is found sitting in a wheelchair with her throat cut. The crime is investigated by Inspector Annie Cabbot. At the same time, in Eastvale, in the so-called Labyrinth, a girl is raped and killed. The murder case is being led by Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks. At first glance, the incidents in two different North Yorkshire towns are in no way connected, but Banks' assistant, trying to track down a maniac in the Labyrinth, has his throat cut in the same manner as the woman in Whitby - with a razor blade or scalpel. Alan Banks and Annie Cabbot, who have long been partial to each other, join forces to quickly expose the criminal.