When two students at ancient Durham University make a gruesome discovery, Dr Harrison Lane, Head of the Ritualistic Behavioural Crime unit, is summoned to investigate. A young student has been murdered, satanic symbols etched across their chest, and Harrison is disturbed to see the upside-down hangman’s cross, the devil’s symbol of justice. To Harrison, there’s no justice here, and he vows to uncover the truth.

The student was popular, and the police can’t find a motive for the murder. Meanwhile, rumours of ghost sightings are spreading like wildfire across campus, and they all seem to be circling around one location: Palace Green, a popular meeting place in the very oldest part of the university.

Then Harrison discovers an unsolved cold case – a student who went missing a year ago, presumed drowned. Wondering if it could be related to the recent death, he digs into it further – what he finds sends shockwaves across the campus. Is something deadly and sinister happening in the heart of the university?