
June 1917 While German Gotha bombers raid London from above a man's body is fished from the Thames below The man had been garrotted & his tongue cut out before he was left to his watery grave & as the killer has taken care to remove identifying items & even labels Detective Inspector Marmion & Sergeant Keedy struggle to name the victim before they can begin properly with their investigation As family & business associates are found the list of suspects grows ever longer & as Marmion wrangles with the case he & his family must also contend with their anxieties for his now-missing son Paul The interminable presence of war & closer to home pitched battles in the East End between rival adolescent gangs suggest the Home Front is more insecure than ever before With great care Marmion must pick his way along a twisting path that will lead him towards the killer