Two macabre discoveries in a single morning present an intriguing challenge for Detective Inspector Tom Harper Leeds, England. July, 1893. D.I. Tom Harper is witnessing the demonstration of a devastating new naval weapon, the torpedo, at Roundhay Park. The explosion brings up a body in the lake, a rope lashed tightly around its waist. At the same time, dredging operations in the River Aire are disrupted when a woman's severed leg floats to the water's surface, still clad in its stocking and boot. Could the two macabre discoveries be connected? Harper's investigations will lead him right to the heart of the criminal underworld that underpins the city – and into the path of a merciless killer.

When Superintendent Tom Harper's wife is threatened during an election campaign, the hunt for the attacker turns personal.Leeds, England. October, 1897. Superintendent Harper is proud of his wife Annabelle. She's one of seven women selected to stand for election as a Poor Law Guardian. But even as the campaign begins, Annabelle and the other female candidates start to receive anonymous letters from someone who believes a woman's place lies firmly in the home.The threats escalate into outright violence when an explosion rips through the church hall where Annabelle is due to hold a meeting – with fatal consequences. The only piece of evidence Harper has is a scrap of paper left at the scene containing a fragment from an old folk song. But what is its significance?As polling day approaches and the attacks increase in menace and intensity, Harper knows he's in a race against time to uncover the culprit before more deaths follow. With the lives of his...

1734. When a young country lad requests the Constable's help in finding his sister who has run away to Leeds to seek her fortune, Nottingham is not optimistic. Such girls usually end up as prostitutes – or worse. The following day, the young man is found dead, his throat slit.The evening before his death, the victim had been seen in deep conversation with career criminal Tom Finer in the Bell Inn. Could there be a connection to his murder? Why has Finer returned to Leeds after a seventeen-year absence? And what really happened to the young man's sister?Then a second body is discovered floating in the River Aire – and Nottingham finds himself plunged into a murder investigation where nothing is as it seems.