Maori cop Tito Ihaka, “unkempt, overweight, intemperate, unruly, unorthodox and profane “, is a cop unable to play the police politics necessary for promotion, but a man who has a way with women, and he's a stubborn investigator with an uncanny instinct for the truth.
Ihaka is in the wilderness, having fallen foul of the new regime at Auckland Central. Called back to follow up a strange twist in the unsolved case that got him into trouble in the first place, Ihaka finds himself hunting a shadowy hitman who could have several notches on his belt.
His enemies want him off the case, but the bodies are piling up. Ihaka embarks on a quest to establish whether police corruption was behind the shooting of an undercover cop and--to complicate matters-- he becomes involved with an enigmatic female suspect who could hold the key to everything.