Dalziel & Pascoe

While visiting old university friends in rural Oxfordshire, Pascoe and a heavily pregnant Ellie are devastated when they discover the bodies of their hostess Rose and two of her guests, all shot dead.

The death of a young girl at a local fair is the third recent case of bizarre ritual murder for Dalziel and Pascoe. The serial killer is known as the Choker because of his habit of strangling his victims. As the murders continue, the police turn to a fortune-teller for clues. Meanwhile, Pascoe's home life is in disarray as he tries to come to terms with fatherhood.

Flamboyant businessman and Dalziel's old friend, Dick Elgood, accuses one of his employees, rose-enthusiast Patrick Alderman, of trying to murder him. When Pascoe starts to investigate, he discovers a trail of suspicious deaths in Alderman's past. Meanwhile, attending a police conference, Dalziel bumps into an old flame, but his fumbling attempts to rekindle the passion result in a bloody nose.

After a drunken evening at a top country restaurant with his friend the bookmaker, Arnie Bancroft, and smooth-talking Major Kassell, Dalziel's car is involved in an accident. An elderly cyclist is knocked over and killed. But who was driving: Dalziel or Bancroft? When Dalziel is accused of drink-driving, Pascoe is forced to investigate his boss, putting their relationship under strain.