Shepherd and his team are drawn into a world of Victorian costumes and science fiction when they investigate a death at a gathering of steampunk enthusiasts. The victim was a prejudiced man who was killed in an explosion during a fireworks display, but was he the intended target?

Simms attends a book reading only to find that the world-renowned author has been killed in the same manner as his new novel, Knife in the Back. To complicate matters, the woman found kneeling over his dead body is Shepherd's ex-wife.

When an animal rights activist is killed while attempting to disrupt the first day of duck hunting season, Shepherd and the team interview members of the Brokenwood Duck Stalking Association. Was her death an accidental shooting, or something more sinister?

A suspicious suicide inside Brokenwood Women's Prison turns personal when Shepherd discovers he knew the victim from his days in the city. As the detectives investigate, they come across familiar faces, as some of the suspects are female convicts that they put away.