DI Adam Stark has left London and his overbearing boss, returned to his home town of Alloa, hoping things might be quieter and to spend a bit of time with his Ma. Meanwhile, Stella McDuff has just won millions on the lottery. It's the only good luck she's had in her entire life. She has plans to escape to London, leaving her life of drudgery, her thoughtless children and brutish husband, Billy, behind. Stark knows the McDuffs well. Billy and his brother Malky are arch-enemies from childhood and they're not pleased to see him again. Stella is rich, she can almost taste her freedom, but winning that amount of money has awakened a few green-eyed monsters. It's not long before she's facing every parent's worst nightmare and Stark is dealing with missing persons, kidnap, ransom and murder. So much for the quiet life back home.