MP Gregor Jack is caught in an Edinburgh brothel with a prostitute only too keen to show off her considerable assets. When the media horde begins baying for political blood Jack's friends rally round to protect him. But some of those friends - particularly his wife's associates - are not so squeaky clean themselves.

Initially Detective Inspector Rebus is sympathetic to the MP's dilemma - who hasn't occasionally succumbed to temptation? - but with the disappearance of Jack's wife the glamour surrounding the popular young man begins to tarnish. Someone wants to strip Jack naked and Rebus wants to know why ...

'[His] consistent level of excellence is unmatched in the field of British crime fiction.'- Marcel Berlins, The Times.

JAMES MACPHERSON played DCI Jardine in Taggart for fifteen years — and then moved to The Bill. He has acted on stage in plays as diverse as The Taming of the Shrew and works by Hamish Wilson. He also presents a regular books programme for Radio Scotland - for which he has interviewed Ian Rankin. He lives in Glasgow.