"In the 1880s the Dublin Metropolitan Police classified crime in two distinct classes. Political crimes were classed as 'special,' whereas theft, robbery and even murder ... were known as 'ordinary.' [In] June 1887, the city swelters in a long summer heatwave, the criminal underworld simmers, and with it, the threat of nationalist violence is growing ... Then the mutilated bodies of a man and a child are discovered in Phoenix Park and Detective Sergeant Joe Swallow steps up to investigate ... With the Land War at its height, the priority is to contain special crime, and these murders appear to be ordinary--thus of lesser priority. But when the evidence suggests high-level involvement, and the body count increases, Swallow must navigate the treacherous waters of foolish superiors, political directives, and frayed tempers to solve the case"--