• is set in London in the 21st century, but it's a London we wouldn't recognize. The Church rules England with an iron hand but has begun to lose its grip. Times are tense. Then six high-powered priests are brutally murdered on the Thames. Samuel Waterhouse, the flamboyant barrister hired to investigate, soon realizes he is out of his depth. So he hires a hardened criminal, William Barnett, to assist him. Barnett rams through a delicate web of conspiracy like an express train through a scout troop's tent. Meanwhile, the bubonic plague breaks out and thousands are dying. Throughout all this chaos, Waterhouse and Barnett are treading on the toes of the immensely powerful figures behind the scenes.