When junior barrister Daniel Pitt is summoned to the scene of a murder in the London district known as Mile End, the victim is a senior barrister from the same firm. What was this respected colleague doing in such a rough part of the city? Daniel and his friend Tom Kitteridge must investigate on their own, lest the police uncover something that may cast a suspicious light on the firm. Their inquiries lead to a local brothel and to an opium den, but also to a wealthy shipbuilder crucial to Britain's effort to build up its fleet, which may soon face the fearsome naval might of Germany. Daniel's investigation is so unwelcome that even his father, Special Branch head Thomas Pitt, receives a chilling warning from a powerful source. -- adapted from jacket