In the early hours of a late autumn day, a black and powerful car explodes on the M55 motorway near Preston, its violent end revealing a murdered victim in its boot. Enter Detective Inspector Claire Jones, a sharp, no-nonsense Lancashire detective with a chaotic desk and a singular focus on justice.
Tasked with the baffling case, Jones quickly identifies the victim as John Green, a renowned Preston barrister known as a 'judicial machine' for his relentless pursuit of legal victories. Green's murder soon leads Jones down a twisted path to Oxford, where a mysterious letter connects the victim to James Davis and a contentious court case involving a powerful, criminalized local politician known as 'the Chameleon' (Terry Parkinson). Was Green merely a 'bystander' caught in a deadly web, or was his own 'thespian' courtroom performance the trigger for a ruthless, premeditated assassination?
As Jones navigates a world where corrupt power reigns and loyalties are bought, unsettling anonymous calls begin to target her directly, hinting at a stalker from her past and raising the stakes in a case already fraught with danger. From secluded Lancashire farms to Oxford's shadowy courtrooms, Jones must uncover the truth before The Hidden Path claims another victim, or perhaps, herself