Farmer Paddy Fenton faces financial ruin as a result of foot and mouth disease among his flock.
Then he gets an offer that he can't refuse: ready cash to rent one of his outbuildings. He doesn't enquire too closely as to what is happening there until a police raid uncovers a sinister operation.
Eric Ward agrees to represent Fenton and soon finds himself in a bitter turf war. The criminal network stretches far beyond the local Northumberland countryside.
Botched operations, a divided and corrupt workforce, and a bleak landscape filled with desperate and disillusioned characters provide the backdrop for Ward's chilling journey into the dark underworld of the north.
It's not always clear who's running, or exactly what they're running from.
