Disorganized and disabled from military service in Afghanistan, private investigator Cormoran Strike is visited by an old friend, John Bristow, who believes his adopted sister, model Lula Landry, a declared suicide, was murdered. His basis is CCTV footage of a man in the area where Lula was found. An interview with a very young inspector, Eric Wardle, puts Lula's boyfriend Evan Duffield in the clear, sending Cormoran and temporary secretary Robin in pursuit of would-be suitor, rapper Deeby Macc, and fellow flat dweller Tansy Bestigui, who alerted the police to Lula's death. Also in the frame is Lula's greedy friend Rochelle, now fallen on hard times. John's uncle, solicitor Tony Landry, steps in to divert Cormoran and undermine his investigation but then Cormoran discovers another body.