In the private-detective business, you get on the wrong side of some dangerous people. For Galway investigator Jack Taylor, that meant a violent assault that left him comatose. Waking up during the Covid pandemic, Jack struggles to cope with the radical changes the world has seen during his absence. Work – and the bottle – helps. One thing that never changes is the venality of human nature. Local nuns are being attacked, the perpetrator wielding a hammer, and Jack is called in to investigate. With no help from official channels, he finds himself hunting a particularly vicious criminal – alone – once again. And as he delves deeper into these senseless attacks, Jack soon discovers a darkness that makes him wish he had never woken up.