The last time Maureen ODonnell saw Ann Harris she was in the Glasgow Womens Shelter smelling of a long binge on cheap drink. A month later Anns mutilated body stitched into a mattress is washed up on the banks of the Thames. No-one except for Maureen & her best mate Leslie seems to care about what happened to her & Maureen is the only person who thinks Anns husband is innocent. But solving Anns murder comes as light relief. Maureens father is back in Glasgow Leslie is sloping about like a nervous spy & then theres Angus Maureens old therapist whos twice as bright as she is & making her play a dangerous game with the police. In the long tradition of Scots in trouble Maureen runs away to London. Looking for answers to the mystery surrounding Anns death she becomes embroiled in a seedy world of deceit & violence. Alone in a strange city Maureen starts to piece together Anns final days. But time is not on her side & Maureen needs just twelve hours just twelve to put things right & she doesnt care what it costs...