A hanged man would say anything to save his life. But what if his testimony is true? When Inspector Ben Ross is called to Newgate Prison by a man condemned to die by the hangman's noose he isn't expecting to give any credence to the man's testimony. But the account of a murder he witnessed over seventeen years ago is so utterly believable that Ben can't help wondering if what he's heard is true. It's too late to save the man's life, but it's not too late to investigate a murder that has gone undetected for all these years, though convincing his superiors to allow him to investigate 'a cold case' proves difficult.

However, Lizzie is determined that she will look into it and what she discovers persuades Scotland Yard to take the matter seriously.

But Lizzie, in making her enquiries, has entered dangerous territory.