Gabrielle Hunter, her husband Leo and son Stefan drive to a remote luxury retreat at the invitation of new client Art Fisher. Gabrielle is struggling to grieve the death of her father. As they approach the retreat, they hit and kill a deer, but discover it was already dying from a bullet wound.At the house, they meet Art, his wife Polly and daughter Fleur. In no time, Art is introducing Gabrielle to new drugs for her anxiety, while covertly competing with Leo, whose attraction to Polly will not remain secret for long.Stefan and Fleur stumble on a stag trapped in a hedge maze in the grounds, where the produce of the garden is ripe out of season. Gabrielle is shot at while running in the woods. Leo, meanwhile, gazes at the sculptures on the lawn and begins to experience gaps in his memory. Whenever Stefan uses Fleur's virtual reality headset, or Leo digs deeper into the house technology, or Gabrielle takes Art's drugs, they all see things that cannot be...

In Ulan Baatar, a high-profile criminal prosecution collapses as police evidence is revealed to have been faked. The female judge, Radnaa, throws out the case and the defendant, Muunokhoi, a wealthy and influential businessman with suspected links to organised crime, walks free. Meanwhile, on the Mongolian steppes, the police discover the body of a woman who has been tortured before being killed. Nergui is assigned to conduct an internal enquiry into Muunokhoi's failed prosecution, while Doripalam has to deal with both a major murder investigation and suspected corruption in his own team. Tunjin, an alcoholic and overweight member of the Serious Crimes Unit, is suspended, accused of forging evidence in an attempt to secure Muunokhoi's prosecution. Cut adrift from the police, he realises that Muunokhoi's men are pursuing him, determined to exact revenge. He flees to the industrial ruins of the city, knowing it is only a matter of time before he is discovered. As Doripalam faces gunfire in the northern mountains, Nergui is attacked and Judge Radnaa is kidnapped. Meanwhile Tunjin decides to take matters into his own hands. And, as Nergui frantically tries to put together the pieces of this jigsaw, he begins to realise that Muunokhoi's influence is more malign and far-reaching than he could ever have suspected.

Set in a country struggling to come to terms with the legacy of its past and the promise of its future, "The Shadow Walker" is a gripping thriller that introduces Inspector Nergui of the Mongolian Serious Crime squad. As winter's first snows fall on Ulaan Bataar, the mutilated body of a British geologist is found in the city's most expensive hotel, apparently the fourth victim of a serial killer. With political pressure to solve the crimes mounting, Nergui, ex-head of the Serious Crime squad, is ordered back to his former role, building an uneasy working relationship with his successor and protege, Doripalam, and with Drew McLeish, a senior British CID officer sent out to support the investigation. But the murders continue - leading the officers through the disused factories of the decaying city, out on to the steppes among nomadic herdsmen and illegal gold prospectors, and down into the barren landscapes of the Gobi. And then McLeish himself is kidnapped...

Ulaan Bataar bakes in the heat of an unseasonably hot summer as it prepares to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the birth of the Mongol Empire. But the city is facing a series of unexpected crises—an apparent suicide bomber shot down by police in Suuk Bataar Square, a dead body in the City Museum gruesomely arranged to recreate a macabre scene from ancient Mongolian history, an explosion at a political rally, and yet another body found murdered nearby. For Doripalam, now boss of the Serious Crime Team, the crises are growing increasingly personal. As he struggles to keep control of his own personal and professional life, one of his own team is arrested. Solongo, Doripalam’s wife is facing her own challenges and finds herself entangled with murder and with the fugitive officer. Worst of all, Nergui, now an influential figure in the Ministry of Security, appears to be pursuing an agenda all of his own.The roots of all this trouble lie in the past—in the history of the Mongol nation, as well as in the more recent legacies of the communist state. As the sun beats down, a chilling figure emerges—a figure from Nergui’s past, an outcast, who has returned to exact revenge, both on Nergui himself and on the nation that rejected him.