A year previously, DI Delaney was responsible for the arrest of Michael Robinson, a vicious rapist. Robinson always claimed he was set up by the police but, before he could be brought to trial, he was brutally attacked in prison and left for dead. He survived, however, and a year later, out of hospital and fit for trial - he is pointing the finger squarely at Delaney for the assault that nearly killed him.
There is a hint of Armageddon in the air. According to the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (recorded, thankfully, in 1655, before she blew up her entire village and all its inhabitants, who had gathered to watch her burn), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact.