A string of brilliantly masterminded robberies keeps Reid and his team busy and leads to a blast from the past for Drake when he is confronted by his former army colonel. As the net closes in on the robbers, the sergeant finds his loyalties put to the test.

As the dock strike of August '89 takes hold of the city, the killing of a Jewish anarchist leads Reid and the team into the heartless chicanery of the British government's fight against distant empires and global terrorism.

An investigation into the brutal murder of a Telegraph Boy reveal a vice racket being run from the offices of the GPO. A ledger leads Reid to the centre of the one of London’s most august financial institutions, Barings Bank.

Churches and synagogues are being burnt and desecrated in Whitechapel and Reid suspects the same hand behind the various attacks. Meanwhile, the all-too-brief domestic happiness that Sergeant Drake has enjoyed is disrupted by the arrival of a friend from his wife Bella's past, the mysterious and charismatic scholar, Gabriel Cain.

A murder inquiry in a curiosity shop reveals a secret dungeon and signs of a captive girl.

Alex le Shayne, a mysterious clairvoyant is found dead at the local performance place. Jackson presumes poison has a part to play. As Reid is missing Drake steps in to investigate. Elsewhere Susan continues to care for Mathilda and plans to send her to Switzerland.

The serial killer - Nathaniel Dove - is hid in the Hackney Marshes, but how long can he stay out of trouble?

Thatcher discovers a fresh lead of a double murder committed by Nathaniel, giving Reid cause for hope.

Reid must finally bring Augustus Dove to justice, but also find his peace in Whitechapel.