The Granite City is ready to burn, and all it takes is a single spark . . .

In the heat of a blistering summer, Aberdeens police are struggling: half the force is off sick, leave has been cancelled, someones firebombed a hotel full of migrants, and theres a massive protest march happening this Saturday.

With officers dropping like flies, Detective Inspector Logan McRae is forced to juggle cases and run a major murder investigation with a skeleton staff of misfits, idiots and malingerers until the top brass can arrange back-up from other divisions.

It doesnt help that theAberdeen Examinerhas just been bought by Natasha Agapova, a tabloid media tycoon hell-bent on blaming local police for everything. And shesmorethan happy to fan the flames.

But, as bad as everything seems, its all about to get much,muchworse . . .