Edinburgh November 1745 As the nights grow longer in the depths of a Scottish winter, Robert Young, Captain Travers, their families and friends, chase the darkness away as they gather to celebrate a joyful engagement. But grim news casts a pall over the happy atmosphere. A sobbing woman has carried the body of a child into the headquarters of Edinburgh's Town Guard. In her hand she still clutches a bloody dagger. What at first was thought to be no more than a domestic tragedy soon becomes a hunt for a cold blooded killer who runs the worst possible sort of brothel. Robert Young faces a race against time to find the guilty and save other children from the same fate. His investigation will bring him face to face with his deadliest and most ruthless adversary to date and leave him fighting for his life