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In 1866, a brutal gang of ex-convicts from Australia left a trail of death, thievery and larceny across the goldfields of New Zealand. In the goldmining town of Greymouth, Inspector William Henry James, in charge of the police camp, attempted to prevent the gang from taking root in his town. Too late he discovered that a missing surveyor may have been the first victim of the gang. After James forced them to leave town, the Burgess/Kelly gang went on to rob and murder five men transporting gold to Nelson in the colony's most horrendous mass murder. The press was merciless. Why didn't he stop the gang when he had the chance?

Years later, forced into retirement after government cuts combined two districts, Inspector James reflects on his biggest case, and how he fought to bring those responsible to justice. His own life has been a mixture of success and tragedy, from his days in the goldfields of Victoria, his time leading the gold escort from Christchurch to the West Coast and his gradual advancement on the force, to the personal tragedies that amplify the awful discovery of the young surveyor's body. But as he faces retirement without his promised pension, he delays thinking about his difficult future and reconsiders the worst crime he encountered in his career, and the failures he has lived with for 22 years.