This book tells the story of Johnny Paradise, who is living on a derelict barge in the Thames Estuary after being suspended from the Met Police. Johnny drowns his sorrows in drinking at the local pub called the Drunken Man, until he is visited by an old friend who brings him news about his daughter. The story leads to a series of killings as the gangs of East London try to silence him as he attempts to solve the mystery of the Necklace of Death.