[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5875-2_1582.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[DontYouDarePityMe Don't look so damned concerned, Havers!]] [[HeroicBSOD I'm perfectly fine.]]]]

-> '''Havers''': ''[visiting Lynley after his arrest]'' Are you okay?
-> '''Lynley''': You mean, "Did I do it"?
-> '''Havers''': No! I mean, are you ''bloody'' okay? God, I've been asking you that for the last six months!

Six months after his wife's death, Lynley is letting himself drown in the bottle. Havers' attempts to reach out to him are unsuccessful. In the middle of this, news arrives that a child's body has been found. The child in question is Justin Oborne, Lynley's godson, who went missing 12 years ago on the night of his 5th birthday party.

At the request of Justin's parents, Sam and Vivienne, Lynley goes to Rome to bring back Justin's older sister, Julia. Julia distanced herself from her parents soon after Justin's disappearance. Lynley persuades Julia to return, but they end up sleeping together on their first night back to London. The next morning, Lynley wakes to an ugly shock: Julia is lying dead on the pavement after a fall from the window, and he is the prime suspect. The arresting officer, DSI Michelle Tate, is determined to have Lynley convicted. It looks like Lynley's best hope is to argue that Julia committed suicide, but Lynley is instinctively sure that she didn't.

With Havers and Lafferty's help, Lynley tries to run an unofficial investigation to find Julia's true killer. But will the three of them be able to defeat DSI Tate's scrutiny -- not to mention the killer's maneuverings -- and gather enough evidence to clear Lynley's name?

!! Tropes

* AloneWithThePsycho: Havers, yet ''again''.
* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: Second verse, same as the first; in a choice between 'save Barbara' and 'anything else', Barbara wins.
* BeardOfSorrow: More like "stubble of apathy", see page image. It goes away soon enough to reinstate Lynley as MrFanservice.
* BerserkButton: [=McCaffrey=] finds out that taking a jab at Lynley's SurvivorGuilt over Helen's death isn't a good idea.
* BlatantLies: Lynley tries to convince Havers that he's completely fine, and fails ''spectacularly''.
* BrokenBird: Julia.
* ChekhovsGunman: The lady who stares at Lynley and Julia as they kiss in the stairwell comes in very handy to establish that Lynley ''didn't'' rape Julia, contrary to DSI Tate's belief.
* ClearMyName: Lynley, with Barbara and Lafferty's help.
* ConflictingLoyalty: Barbara and Lafferty are torn between their loyalty to the Met and their loyalty to Lynley. No prizes for guessing who wins.
** After Tate grants her special permission to talk to Lynley on the condition that ''anything'' he does or says is admissible, Havers [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight completely betrays Tate's trust]] by smuggling away a piece of evidence that Lynley wants examined.
** Similarly, Lafferty conceals an incriminating post mortem result from Tate despite being under an obligation of full disclosure.
* CrimeAfterCrime: What started as a cover-up for manslaughter ends up being a manslaughter plus two other murders. Oh, Conrad, you ''connard''!
* DarkSecret: A surprisingly large number of people know what ''really'' happened to Justin.
* DrowningMySorrows: Lynley, in this episode. Havers tries to reach him -- and fails.
* ExplainExplainOhCrap: Lynley and Lafferty try to reason why [=McCaffrey=]'s confession [[TakingTheHeat isn't quite convincing]], despite the DNA results on the rubber glove showing a close match.
--> '''Lynley''': Is it possible the DNA on the glove wasn't his?
--> '''Lafferty''': Possible, but unlikely. I mean, if it's not his, it's a close relative's. ''[They look at each other [[OhCrap in sudden horror]].]''
* FalseConfession: [=McCaffrey=] tries to make one in order to [[TakingTheHeat cover-up]] for Conrad.
* GuiltByCoincidence: Someone up there must have been ''really'' pissed off with Lynley. To begin with, he is the only one in the flat when Julia falls out of the window to her death. Later, when Christine is murdered, he suddenly remembers that his blood is on her sleeve from earlier in that afternoon, when she cleaned up an injury he had sustained. Appropriately, [[OhCrap his reaction is:]] "''[[PrecisionFStrike Shit.]]''"
* HeroicBSOD: Lynley is in one. Barbara is trying desperately to break him out of it, without much success.
* HesBack: Oh, come on, you didn't ''really'' think Lynley would end his career like this, did you?
--> '''Havers''': ''[last lines]'' Welcome back, you.
* HypocriticalHeartwarming: When DSI Tate is particularly nasty to Lynley during the interrogation, Havers asks her if she's taking this personally because he is an earl. Now ''this'', coming from someone who believes that AristocratsAreEvil, is nothing short of a volte-face. But very sweet, nonetheless.
* INeedAFreakingDrink: Barbara and Lynley both desperately need one after the events of the episode. Barbara [[LampshadeHanging acknowledges]] Lynley's earlier drinking problem, but clearly trusts him not to [[DrowningMySorrows go off the wagon again]] this time, as his addiction wasn't physical but psychological.
-->'''Barbara''': [[LampshadeHanging I probably shouldn't be saying this]], but -- [[CatchPhrase d'you fancy a drink?]]
* ItsAllMyFault: Sam, during his BSOD after Julia's death. An exasperated Lynley tells him that [[SarcasmMode unfortunately, it isn't]] ''[[SarcasmMode all]]'' [[SarcasmMode his fault]].
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: Covering up a genuinely accidental death is morally slippery ground, but committing ''more'' murders to keep it a secret? Not so much.
* KickTheDog: Lynley is fairly beastly to poor Havers in this episode, snapping at her for no reason at all and generally being an arse the likes of which we haven't seen since the pilot episode. (Actually, he was ''kinder'' in the pilot...) Barbara takes it with what is, for her, astounding grace, always matching him shot for shot but never once giving him the sort of telling-off he truly deserves from her. The reason for this is unspoken but obvious; she is the only safe outlet he has, and if it makes him feel better to snap at her, she's going to let him.
* LeaveMeAlone: Lynley, to Barbara. Poor girl. But when [[FromBadToWorse shit does hit the fan]], he has to eat humble pie and openly say: "I need your help."
* LoveMartyr: Barbara is a platonic version in this episode. She would have been well within her rights to tell Lynley just where he could put his [[KickTheDog attitude]] toward her, but she does nothing of the kind, instead letting him rain verbal blow after verbal blow on her with about as little complaint as she's capable of. [[UndyingLoyalty She has her reasons]].
* MamasBabyPapasMaybe: Justin.
* TheMourningAfter: Lynley's in the middle of one, and not coping well.
* NotSoStoic: Lynley generally manages to appear stoic about Helen's death in public, but briefly loses his composure when Julia sums up his hurt and anger: "She changed you and then abandoned you. What a bitch."
* OneOfOurOwn: Partly because of this, and partly because of his peerage, DSI Tate goes out of her way to treat Lynley like everyone else. Meaning she treats him like crap.
* ThePowerOfFriendship: Once again, the power of friendship between Lynley and Barbara can work miracles. Add to that Lafferty's coming out as a die-hard Lynley supporter, and not even the worst combination of circumstances can defeat Lynley.
* QuitYourWhining: Lynley takes this approach to Sam when [[TalkingDownTheSuicidal trying to get him to see reason]]. It very nearly backfires. Interestingly, Sam's attitude to his personal tragedies -- which is {{Wangst}} -- arguably [[{{Foil}} shows Lynley what his own behaviour might be looking like to others]], and gives him a wake-up call.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: {{Averted}}. DSI Tate is anything but reasonable, although she does have a few kind moments, like when she allows Havers to speak to Lynley before the interrogation. Big mistake -- for ''her'', anyway, as it saves Lynley's bacon.
* ReplacementGoldfish: Oliver, to Sam and Vivienne.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: When it's a choice between clearing Lynley's name and following the rules, as far as Barbara and Lafferty are concerned, there ''is'' no choice.
* SexForSolace: Lynley, with Julia. Havers isn't impressed.
* TalkingDownTheSuicidal: Lynley tries to do this with Sam, during the latter's BSOD. Thankfully, Lynley succeeds.
* UndyingLoyalty: Once again, Barbara's to Lynley is on full display, but that's about as much of a surprise as water being wet. The real surprise is Lafferty, who drops his [[BunnyEarsLawyer bunny ears]] and establishes himself as a sincere and devoted friend.
* VillainousRescue: Conrad rescues Lynley from DI Tate's one-eyed interrogation.
* WhatIsEvil: How about this as a piece of philosophy from a triple-murderer?
--> '''Conrad''': Life is binary -- sunny day, rainy day. There's no good or evil or free will. We just react to the hand we're given.
* WhatTheHellHero: Havers is ''not'' impressed by Lynley's method of [[SexForSolace seeking solace]], and is [[BrutalHonesty characteristically blunt]] about it. "I don't think it was your finest hour," she tells him. In response, Lynley retreats to the gents' to sulk.