In London, Jess Flynn, a marine insurance investigator is desperate for a new case. Meanwhile, on the remote Scottish island of Baric, a fishing boat goes missing and its skipper is left unconscious on the quayside. The investigation headed by Detective Sergeant Mack Ross gets underway but he is soon left frustrated by the remoteness of the island, his reliance on the mainland for forensics and a lack of suspects. Apart from a tourist called Stella Winn everyone else is accounted for and without the missing boat, Jess Flynn isn't escaping the office any time soon.