Inspector Hal Challis is called to his boyhood home to tend to his dying father, leaving Sergeant Ellen Destry to head an investigation into a ring of pedophiles while Hal conducts his own investigation into his brother-in-law's mysterious disappearance.

Bread baker Corinna Chapman investigates when the chocolates from her friend's shop are sabotaged and her Israeli boyfriend gets roughed up by a man claiming to be a messiah.

Assisting Detective Inspector Jack Robinson in the investigation of an unpopular orchestral conductor's murder, Miss Fisher becomes suspicious of a charismatic code-breaker who has captured John Wilson's affections.

"The young detectives think Alan Auhl is washed up, but that doesn't faze him. He does things his own way--and gets results. He still lives with his ex-wife, off and on, in a big house full of random boarders and hard-luck stories. And he's still a cop, even though he retired from Homicide some years ago. He works cold cases now. Like the death of John Elphick--his daughters are still convinced he was murdered; the coroner is not so sure. Or the skeleton...

Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock must set aside her feelings of loneliness after her recent move to Melbourne in order to investigate the deaths of a homeless man and a famous actor, who are linked by the secrets they've been keeping --