Dalziel almost witnesses a shooting which two witnesses claim was a beautiful woman trying to commit suicide by shooting herself in the face. He is convinced it is murder. Ironically, Dalziel and his suspect (Philip Swain) are cast in a cathedral mystery play as God and the devil, respectively. A young missing husband, a series of letters to Dalziel by an intended suicide, heroin in the autopsy, changes in testimony, and bodies buried in concrete add to the drama facing Dalziel and Pascoe.