This book is set in London, 1826. Leaving behind his fathers tragic failures, Gabriel Swift arrives to study with Edwin Poll, the greatest of the citys anatomists. It is his chance to find advancement by making a name for himself. But instead he finds himself drawn to his masters nemesis, Lucan, the most powerful of the citys resurrectionists and ruler of its trade in stolen bodies. Dismissed by Mr Poll, Gabriel descends into the violence and corruption of Londons underworld, a place where everything and everyone is for sale, and where - as Gabriel discovers - the taking of a life is easier than it might seem.