Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison (Dame Helen Mirren) now deals with a racially-charged murder. The long-dead body of a young black woman is discovered in a district recently convulsed by police brutality and which now is in the midst of a highly-charged political campaign. Her investigation is hampered by the hostility of the local populace, and the clumsy methods of some of her subordinates and irresponsible journalists make things worse. Can she solve the case before a race riot breaks out? Her job is further complicated when a former lover is assigned to her command as a subordinate.