DI John Rebus in­ves­ti­gates the murder of an illegal immigrant, who had ties to asylum seekers in Edinburgh. DS Siobhan Clarke looks into the dis­ap­pear­ance of a teenaged girl; soon, the rapist of the girl’s sister is murdered.

Rebus and Siobhan struggle with the uglier side of life in Edinburgh, notably, racism, latter-day slavery, and the increasing numbers of asylum seekers. As usual, their personal lives are in a mess: Rebus drinks too much; Siobhan falls asleep with a tub of ice cream.

As in other Rebus books, the two in­ves­ti­ga­tions end up being linked somewhat too neatly for my liking.