A fisherman's body is found tangled up in a North Sea trawler's net. Vera and her team investigate with the help of the local harbourmaster, and find the dead man's sons pointing the finger at the owner of a fish market, with whom they have a long-running feud. Retracing the dead man's steps, Vera discovers when he drowned and tracks down a waitress who may have been one of the last people to see him alive. However, the case becomes more complicated when a witness runs away and a boat belonging to the dead man's sister-in-law goes up in flames