A series of increasingly violent assaults is shrouding the happy-go-lucky resort of Blackpool in a veil of terror. It seems only a matter of time before one of these brutal attacks leads to the ultimate crime - murder. The police response, coordinated by an increasingly harassed DCI Henry Christie seems to be getting nowhere fast and the public are growing restless.

When the brutally murdered body of a Manchester drug dealer is found dumped in Lancashire, it turns out that the dead man had been a CID informant working for a small nucleus of corrupt detectives. Then a high profile trial collapses amid acusations of police misconduct. Thrust into the investigation of the drug dealer's death is DCI Henry Christie, recently returned to work after a period of suspension.

After his adventures in Substantial Threat, Detective Inspector Henry Christie has been suspended from duty. He's spending quality time with his family, but at heart he's bored - and itching to get back into the fray.So when the attractive and wealthy ,mother of one of his daughter's horse-riding friends asks him to investigate the bizarre mutilation of some of the family's bloodstock, Christie agrees - against his better judgement. He soon finds himself caught up in a web of corruption and intrigue.

Ray Cragg is one of the country's biggest gangsters. His patch extends from Birmingham to the Scottish borders., dealing in drugs, prostitution and illegal immigrants. The cops are desperate to nail him. When Cragg's brother and side- kick, ends up with his face blown off, Detective Inspector Henry Christie gets sucked into a world of ultra-organized crime.

It is party conference week, and Blackpool is heaving with pundits and politicos. Also loose on the street are killers and cops. A massive operation is protecting the Prime Minister, but that doesn't mean that regular policing can stop.  That falls to Inspector Henry Christie, recently transferred to uniform duties. First on the scene of a murder with racial overtones, Henry is obliged to hand ove rthe job. His pride is dented - not least because the murder looks part of a series committed across the country.

Blackburn on a Friday night at the beginning of summer is always a policing headache. But for the officers of Blackburn police station it's about to become a nightmare.When three police cars explode in quick succession in the station car park, it seems as if a spectacular terrorist campaign is underway. But as Blackburn's finest get ready to do battle with the IRA, the real action is going down elsewhere.

It's difficult to have much sympathy for a prisoner like Louis Trent - no matter how the other inmates abuse him. For Trent is a child-molester, one of the nastieast kind. Just how nasty, the authorities and his tormentors are about to find out.

The world's brashest, trashiest seaside resort, alive with daytime fun and night-time thrills - Blackpool, city of dreams. And for some, like Detective Inspector Henry Christie, a city of nightmares.

As far as mafia hitman Jimmy Hinksman is concerned, working in Britain is a piece of cake. In his opinion the police are unarmed amateurs and security is nowhere - at least, that's what he tells his boss, Mr. Corelli. Which is how Hinksman can clamp a Semtex bomb to a Daimler in a Lancaster hotel car park unobserved. The Daimler is due to take two associates of Mr. Corelli's to Manchester Airport - Mr. Corelli does not intend them to get there in one piece.