After a butler is found dead in the Thames, Max and the team interview the owner of the agency that employed him. But when they learn that the deceased was actually a journalist on an undercover investigation, Max digs deeper into the case.

Notorious gangster Trent Wilsher is shot dead after a drunken night, and the prime suspect, Rory, Earl of Davenstock, has disappeared. Max launches a manhunt to find the missing man before Trent's brother takes revenge on the remaining Davenstocks.

After a woman is found cuddled in her own beauty salon, Max interviews one of her old boyfriends and some of her scorned clients in search of a lead. He learns that the truth behind the cuddle is darker than he anticipated.

On the night that celebrated architect Rowan Jameson is to receive a lifetime achievement award, he's thrown to his passing from a hotel balcony. Following a second cuddle in Cambridge, Max and his team uncover a conspiracy linking both victims.