Shortlisted for the 2020 Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger award. Newly qualified offshore medic, Danny Verity, arrives on the Cuillin Alpha oil platform shortly before a storm damages the satellite system, severing the crew's only mode of communication to the mainland. It isn't long before he is forced to carry out emergency surgery on an injured crewmate, whose accident he suspects was a result of sabotage, when another member of the crew disappears and yet another is attacked. Then his casualty dies, and a sinister voice claiming to be that of the Pied Piper makes a threatening announcement on the PA system before Danny finds it damaged. While the North Atlantic sea rages around them, Danny must find and stop the saboteur before anyone else gets hurt. But with no way of calling for help and unable to risk escaping on the lifeboats, it seems the crew are trapped aboard the platform with a killer.

A security guard at the Mallach oil terminal on a remote Orkney island goes missing. His family ask private investigator Danny Verity for help. Danny takes a job at the terminal, whilst his partner, Gemma Gauld, searches the island. Her combative approach soon ruffles feathers and this seemingly tranquil community reveals some lethal hazards. Meanwhile, Danny’s new colleagues have secrets that they are desperate to keep from him and their employers. As he gets closer to the truth, the terminal becomes an ever more dangerous workplace. When another local man disappears, the link between Gemma’s discoveries and his own become clearer. As the islanders and oil workers close ranks, Danny and Gemma are fighting obstruction, determined to uncover the truth. Facing a hostile community and a violent perpetrator, can they uncover what happened to the missing men?