A wealthy Turkish businessman killed in a drive-by shooting at first appears to have been an unlucky casualty of a turf war between Kurds and Turks, until a pathologist's report reveals that he had died of a heart attack before being shot and had also been poisoned.

The owner of a gallery specialising in Islamic art is discovered in the boot of a submerged car. Armed with a clue found in the dead man's flat, Alembic and Stone head for a casino, but their investigation is destined to end in further tragedy.

One young woman is strangled as she lets herself into her flat, while across town another wakes to find her boyfriend has been shot while she slept.