Después de ser engañado para participar en un secuestro en Alemania, Jackson regresa a Edimburgo sintiéndose abatido, aunque adquiere un perro. Se le acerca Hope McMaster, una adoptada ansiosa por encontrar a su madre biológica, lo que lleva a Jackson a encontrarse con el ex policía Ray y su esposa Maggie, quienes conocían a los padres adoptivos. Poco después, un llamador anónimo le advierte que no investigue a Carol Braithwaite, a quien Jackson descubre que fue una prostituta asesinada en 1979. Visita a la oficial del caso, Tracy Waterhouse (interpretada por Victoria Wood), ahora una guardia de seguridad que ha acogido ilegalmente a Courtney, la hija silenciosa de otra prostituta, la última víctima de un asesino en serie. Después de que el corrupto ex jefe de policía Lomax amenaza a Jackson para que se aleje, Tracy y su ex colega Barry explican que después del asesinato de Carol, Lomax parece haber llevado a su hijo Michael lejos, y Jackson se encuentra con otro detective privado contratado por Michael para averiguar qué sucedió. Barry le cuenta a Jackson exactamente lo que sucedió cuando Carol fue asesinada, lo que lleva a Jackson a descubrir quién la mató. Para mitigar su culpa por el secuestro, Jackson entrega su honorario a Tracy para que comience una nueva vida con Courtney.

After Jackson's daughter Marlee returns to live with him, he is approached by Rachel Stewart, who is perturbed by her boyfriend Andy Marshall's frequent disappearances. Jackson follows Andy to a remote farm where he meets Miriam Baker. Miriam believes that the death of her estranged daughter, Isobel Marshall, a noted equestrian, was no accident and blames her then son-in-law -- Andy Marshall. Posing as a friend of Isobel, Jackson calls on Andy and is told by Rachel that he was having an affair with her whilst still married; and a colleague of Isobel reveals that Isobel was planning to take their son Freddie and leave Andy. Jackson discovers that Isobel was less than the golden girl suggested by her public image before working out how she died. His luck seems to be in when he wins a small fortune on a race-horse called Nobody's Darling but sadly the death of the bookmaker leads to the exposure of a scam and the winnings are frozen.

Jackson arrives at his office to find Deborah has quit and young Aiden Kelso is waiting for him. Aiden's mother Isla was understood to have been the victim of serial killer Philip McCrory but recently the dying McCrory had owned to all the murders bar Isla's and Aiden wants the case reopened. Aiden's father Ian is evasive, painting a saintly picture of Isla to protect Aiden, when she was actually loose living and a drinker. Having been fleeced by his girlfriend Charlotte, who he learns is a professional con artist, Jackson bumps into old flame Julia, now heavily pregnant and who inadvertently gives him a lead which results in the arrest of Isla's killer. Jackson also tracks down recalcitrant Egyptian teenager Samira Minyawi on behalf of her controlling father, as Minyawi helped in the German kidnapping. Having rescued Samira from her violent boyfriend, Jackson dates the recently divorced Louise Munroe but feels he cannot commit to a relationship with her and goes home, eventually ending up delivering Julia's baby.