Fresh from successfully reinvestigating his childhood friend's mysterious death, Major Boothroyd—the former head of MI6's Q Branch—is hired as a civilian contractor by the police in his sleepy hometown. He is tasked with looking into the unsolved murder of Laurence Noble, a tech millionaire turned online antique dealer. Six months ago, Noble was tortured and killed, with a circular object made of gold and inscribed with mysterious runes found in his pocket. As Q investigates, he finds himself dragged into a chilling conspiracy where past and present meet in a way he could not possibly have imagined.