A city on the brink of civil war. A madman pulling the strings.

A family is found butchered in a dismal room in the Rookery, London's poorest district. Not even their small children are left alive.

Most of the authorities pay scant attention, except for Thieftaker General Jonathan Wild. Intrigued by this development, Colonel Nathaniel Charters tasks his most trusted operative, Jonas Flynt, with discovering why.

When another family is murdered just as brutally, Flynt uncovers evidence of a simmering conflict between rival gangs, with Wild seemingly desperate to keep a lid on the slaughter.

The question for Flynt is how deep is his new friend The Admiral, a gang leader, involved, and is he capable of killing innocents? Or is there someone else in London, more dangerous and more deranged, with blood on their hands?

A scintillating serial killer thriller set amidst the dirt and grime of Georgian London, the next thrilling instalment in the McIlvanney longlisted Company of Rogues series.