Book 2 of the Penance trilogy finds Detective Sergeant Dagmar Johnson pregnant after her brief tryst with the handsome accountant. This bisexual, mixed race, German American is a magnet for trouble which seems to find her all too easily.
Book 2 continues where Book 1 leaves off. This time, Johnson is kept busy trying to solve the case of the dead Filipino girl whose body turns up in the Thames. At the same time, her Detective Chief Inspector loans her out to a specialised unit to tackle corrupt policemen and a bunch of West London hooligans bent on relieving foreign businessmen of their valuables as they are being entertained by ladies of the night.
Along the way, Johnson encounters brothels, robbery with violence, drugs dealers, murder and extreme tragedy. Together with her on-line buddy, Lucius, and his nefarious bug, XTC, Johnson goes about her business oblivious to the rules of engagement.
Johnson thought she had seen off the north London gang but she is sadly mistaken as they seek her out to wreak vengeance for her past dealings. Her personal life and misdemeanours are exposed as the truth behind her run-in with the date rape drug becomes clear. She plans to walk away but, does she?