Winter in Denton is cold bleak & busy time for Detective Inspector Jack Frost whose unsolved crime figures are mounting as he struggles to bring them down in the face of manpower shortages & budget cuts. Denton is having more than its fair share of crime. A serial killer is murdering local prostitutes; a man demolishing his garden shed uncovers a long buried skeleton; an armed robbery at a local mini-mart; a ram-raid at a jewellers & a series of burglaries. But Frost's main concern is for the safety of a missing schoolgirl. Nine weeks ago Vicky Stuart eight years old didn't return home from school & in spite of exhaustive enquiries & extensive searches has never been seen since. Another little girl from the same school is reported missing. Her body is found...raped & strangled. Frost's prime suspect strongly protesting his innocence hangs himself in his cell leaving a note blaming Frost for driving him to suicide. Subsequent evidence points to the man's innocence. Coarse insubordinate & fearless DI Jack Frost is in serious trouble.