The historic city of Granada is vibrant with the spectacle of its Easter processions; its bars and streets brimming with life. But high in the adjacent Alhambra hills, gypsy guitarist Paco is found dead in a Sacromonte cave. Sub-Inspector Max Romero is brought in to investigate Paco's death. An initially straightforward inquiry, it soon shades into something more sinister when Max reveals a link with a major property speculation in the beautiful Sacromonte valley below the Alhambra Palace; one that involves laundered drug money, city corruption and Opus Dei. As Max sinks ever deeper into a political quagmire, he clashes with old foe Inspector Ernesto Navarro. He discovers that, even in vibrant Granada, amid its beauty and drama, the dead can reach out to the living.

Sub-inspector Max Romero is asked to help investigate the death of Leila, a beautiful Muslim postgraduate student, researching the impacts of the Spanish Civil War on Max's home village in the Sierra Nevada. The prime suspect, Hassan, has links to a supposed terrorist group but the police's insensitive handling of the case leads to his tragic suicide. As a result, Max gets co-opted into the anti-terrorist operation based in Granada, which is destined to go terribly wrong.Meanwhile, Max's fascinating family, headed by his charismatic grandmother Paula, loom large in the gathering events, while shadows from the Spanish Civil War crowd in to influence the present.The story moves from the ancient cobbled streets of Granada to the sultry mountains of the Sierra Nevada. Over it all hovers the mesmerising but tragic beauty of the city of Granada.