Ten days to Christmas & Tracey Uphill aged eight hasn't come home from Sunday school. Her mother a pretty young prostitute is desperate. Enter Detective Inspector Jack Frost sloppy scruffy & insubordinate. To help him investigate the case of the missing child Frost has been assigned a new sidekick the Chief Constable's nephew. Fresh to provincial Denton in an oversmart suit Detective Constable Clive Barnard is an easy target for Frost's withering satire. Assisted & annoyed by Barnard Frost complete with a store of tasteless anecdotes to fit every occasion proceeds with the investigation in typically unorthodox style. After he's consulted a local witch Dead Man's Hollow yields up a skeleton. Frost finds himself drawn into an unsolved crime from the past & risks not only his career but also his life...