The mononymous Miller works for a Belfast newspaper named the Post, riding his bicycle nicknamed the "Cycle of Violence" from case to case. Shortly after the death of his father, he offends his boss Frank Galvin, duty editor, in a drunken outburst that leaves him curled up in the foetal position in the middle of his office. As a punishment, he is sent to the fictional town of Crossmaheart, home of the Posts sister paper, the Chronicle, as one of their reporters, Jamie Milburn, has gone missing. Miller arrives in the town and gets sexually involved with Marie Young, girlfriend of the missing Milburn. Marie suffered a sexual assault as a child and Miller, in an effort to help Marie deal with her persisting trauma, seeks out her attackers. Shortly after Miller speaks with each of the three parties; Reverend Michael Rainey, IRA member Tyrone Blair, and Tom Callaghan who is now blind and the only one of the three to show any remorse; they are each killed. Miller, now with a reputation as the "Angel of Death", attempts to solve the disappearance of Milburn while avoiding the police chasing him for these murders.