In the fast-moving follow-up to the White Trilogy, the south-east London police squad are suffering collective burnout:
with tragic deaths, excessive habits, uncontrollable anger and the wrong kind of friendships, the team never had it so bad. When a serial killer takes his show on the road, things get progressively worse. Nicknamed 'The Blitz', a vicious murderer is aiming for tabloid glory by killing cops. Harold Dunphy, Ace crime reporter, thinks he's on to the story of the decade, and the police have all the incentive they need to catch their criminal - before they get caught first!

Times are tough for 'middleman' Julian Corbett. He operates as a half-respectable, half-crooked businessman in what was once the rough dockside of the Welsh capital. But a multi-billion pound redevelopment is transforming the seafront into the stylish Cardiff Bay marina-style housing and shopping area, and Corbett is determined to grab a piece of that action. At first, Corbett thinks the opportunity to help shady developer Sid Hyson dispose of his lakeside casino/hotel/nursing home complex is his road to riches, but he soon realises that all is not well. Hyson is suddenly worried the sea might come flooding in and before that happens wants to 'liquidate' his assets. But [pound]200 million isn't chicken-feed and potential buyers are asking awkward questions. Time soon starts to run out for Corbett and he knows that if he doesn't find an acceptable buyer - and quick - he's as good as dead. The body of one failed 'middleman' has already washed up on a nearby beach. Then Corbett realises he's negotiating with people twice as ruthless as Sid Hyson.

Zelmont Raines has slid a long way since those winning touchdowns brought him lucrative endorsement deals. Crack, barrels of booze, a paternity suit, a hip injury, groupies and some shady investments in gangsta rap; can things get any worse? Enter Wilma Wells, the leggy and brainly lawyer for the Los Angeles Barons professional team. She just happens to be of a mind to pull off a job on her mob-connected bosses. When Zelmont is enlisted in her schemes, he soon learns that the violence he experienced on the field was just a warm-up to the dangers he faces with a woman more than his match sexually and amorally.