A policeman's death leads Inspector Celcius Daly across the Irish border and into a labyrinth of lies and corruption. Daly is in Dreesh, a desolate village where law and order have ground to a halt, and whose residents, ruined by a chain of bankruptcies, have fallen under the spell of a malevolent crime boss with powerful connections. Out of his jurisdiction and out of his comfort zone, Daly is plunged into a shadowy border world of desperate informers, drunken ex-cops, freelance intelligence agents and violent smugglers.