George Cross has unique and unmatchable talents. He uses a combination of logic, determination and, often, pedantry to get answers where others have failed for families who have long given up hope.

So when a ravaged body is found in a local demolition site, it's up to Cross to piece together the truth from whatever fragments he can find.

Cross has little to go on, but from the faint tan lines on the ravaged body, and strange scars on his forearms, an identity gradually emerges: a male amateur cyclist; a reliance on performance-enhancing drugs. But what happened that led to this man's death? How did he end up here? And, most importantly, who is he?

In the face of ever-mounting challenges, including budget cuts and unreliable witnesses, Cross must first work out who the man is to have any chance of solving the murder.

But in searching for this man's identity, Cross will come up against a lot that he is unfamiliar with – jealousy, ambition and a family tearing itself apart . . .