Manchester 1993
Private detective, Tom Renfield, works for the AndTom Detective Agency, a partnership with an old friend, Andi. They are both graduates who might be better employed in a very different line of work.
In a world of moral ambivalence, Renfield tries hard to be a good detective. Hired to find a missing student, the simple investigation quickly becomes more complex. A seemingly straightforward case is increasingly shrouded in confusion and danger.
During his investigations, Renfield works on and off campus, travelling along the Yorkshire coast to the mouth of the Wear. In a remembered narrative, recalled as a drowning man is said to revisit his life as it slips away, the case corkscrews out of control.