Melia is suffering from the fact that her boyfriend Mickey is out of town, sent away on a secret mission, according to her boss. She's on her own, left to pick up a favour he promised to a friend, to meet with the woman's ex-husband and see if their marriage can't be saved. It's a mundane matter, far removed from Melia's day job as a Secret Agent. Just her bad luck, then, that she is on hand to witness a murder, taking place at that most unlikely setting, an arts centre on the renovated banks of the River Irwell in Salford. What lofty heights such a setting promises, and what depths of depravity it delivers. Melia is shocked to find evidence of corruption and double-dealing, forgery and fraud. She is swept along by a tide of wickedness, and then another attempted murder forces her to re-consider again, is she out of her depth? Are the murky waters of the river merely concealing worse things than she ever thought possible? Is it time to leave? If only she could: it isn't easy, once you've been kidnapped.