Sammy Cooper, a keen runner and registered to run the Raymouth Marathon, goes missing days before her nineteenth birthday and, due to her involvement with a seedy councillor, the details of her uncharacteristic disappearance hit the news, forcing the police to bring forward their standard inquiries. Meddling reporter, Nancy Blaine, is like a dog with a bone, and as more girls disappear and other missing girls are linked to the case, her dwindling career advances rapidly with her revealing front-page articles. But she's stepping on the official investigation and her chaotic stirring angers the police. With the Raymouth Marathon looming, and its organisers' adamant that they won't cancel the race, the identity of the kidnapper is discovered and the investigation takes a sickening turn...