THE MURDER of an archaeologist in the West Bank sparks this taut thriller, set amid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, into life.
But this is not your average whodunnit, more concerned instead with digging into the shallow roots of the long stand-off.
On one level it's a fairly standard odd couple crime drama, with the killing bringing together wise-cracking Israeli detective Yossi and his more taciturn Palestinian counterpart Khalid in a bid to crack the case.
Khalid's investigation has been stymied by a lack of cooperation from the Israeli security forces but when it turns out the murder victim was an American with friends in high places they start to play ball.
The archaeologist, it soon emerges, had been uncovering inconvenient truths, which could shake the foundations of Judaism and Islam alike.
All the evidence points to hard-line Zionist Danny (played with a smug intensity by Paul Rattray) being the killer, but when he is brought in for questioning it's the whole system of justice in the region which comes under interrogation.
Khalid is initially frustrated by his lack of access to the facts, preventing him doing his job, while Yossi displays a blind faith in the information and technology at his fingertips.
But as the play slyly insinuates, it's not information which equals power, but the way in which those facts are interpreted.
The cast is routinely excellent and not a word is wasted in Arthur Milner's gripping and thought-provoking script.
Taking your seats, you are warned the production contains a loud gunshot. It's a sign of the play's intensity that when it comes it's almost a relief.
