No peace and goodwill to all men here in Manchester. It's the countdown to Christmas and Sal Kilkenny is exhausted even thinking about the festive season - her life as a single mother is hectic at the best of times. So when she is asked to investigate a suicide that a grieving family cannot come to terms with, she turns the case down. Eventually, and against her better judgement, Sal is persuaded to look into the woman's last hours and is appalled to discover how little the authorities had inves