There is a line between justice and murder. It is five years since the infamous witch trials, and Elias Shaw, one of Salem's hanging judges, has been assigned as magistrate to the sleepy town of Essex, Massachusetts. Almost at once, he discovers the community in moral peril, infected by the shadow of witchcraft. A true believer haunted by a bloody past and his own encounters with Satan's handiwork, Judge Shaw knows he must set things right. Armed with Crown Law, aided by an old military companion - a merciless constable - and a young clerk eager to follow in the judge's footsteps, Shaw begins a ruthless campaign to purge the town of evil. He will save the community's souls at any cost, and will employ every medieval tool and punishment at his disposal. For the people of Essex, what initially appeared as a much-needed return to the Puritan code quickly becomes a nightmare. While the death toll rises and Shaw meets increasingly brazen displays of witchcraft with mounting brutality, the town and its terrified people balance on the edge of destruction. Only one man might save them, a former redcoat officer living in seclusion and hiding his own, shameful secrets. If he can find the courage. If he's not too late. The voices of Salem cry out from the past. Is Judge Shaw a madman consumed by his beliefs? Or is he the only one who can see what is really going on?