Southern Spain. It is in Semana Santa - Holy Week - and the heat is building up in the city. This is always a difficult time for the police, with thousands of visitors adding to thousands of hooded penitents parading through the medieval streets. In the modern slums and the fine old houses of the rich and influential, some have secrets going back to the terrible days of the Civil War. When a hideous double murder is discovered on the first day, the men of the force - and visiting female academic, Maria Gutierrez - know they are in for a long week...