When Member of Parliament Henry Cavendish is found dead at his private mansion rumours, gossip, tittle-tattle and back-stabbing go into overdrive.

His political opponents waste no time in mourning, instead gearing up for the coming by-election by spreading whatever disinformation they can imagine, not only on Cavendish and other parties but also on internal enemies.

The local investigation is terminated by the Acting Chief Constable apparently to avoid any suspicion of internal collusion.

A team from Special Branch is called in, only to discover vital evidence ignored and standard forensic procedures left undone.

Was this a deliberate move by the Acting Chief Constable, Max Todd, himself a suspect, or simple confusion in the rush to ensure a transparent and neutral investigation?

Among the other suspects are Cavendish's wife, his son, a police protection officer Kevin Hillman, Cavendish's maid who was there the entire day, and a young woman who works for left-wing political candidate Claire Thornton.

Local priest Father Conway reports an anonymous phone call from someone confessing to the murder and claiming to be driven by voices.

The voices seek another victim, and Lockless concludes that the next victim will be Claire Thornton.

She wakes up to voices in the night.

This could be a plot by her estranged husband. Or an enemy in her own party, a man she had defeated for the candidature. Or Father Conway's anonymous voice.

Suspect Kevin Hillman is assigned to protect her by the apparently easy-going Chief Inspector Ian Harvey.

Whether Harvey's facade is a pretence is only one of Lockless' problems.

Amongst the others are Doctor Peter Gorman, a cheerful, all-knowing, wise little imp of a pathologist happy to confess to being a Mason, but who isn’t going to tell us any of his lodge’s secrets, especially not who in the local forces belongs to the group.

Lockless himself may or may not be having an affair with his own sergeant, Ruth Fisher, a woman unhappily married to another woman.

Then there is Lockless' own team, a fractious group of individuals more than ready to stir up their own trouble and invent their own tales.

They are like vicious guard dogs whose allegiance is not quite certain.

Perhaps most unsettling is the message Lockless receives of having 'the full support of No 10'.

Ultimately there are only voices.

Some lie.

Perhaps they all do.