A mysterious maniac cuts off the victims' hands and carves strange combinations of letters and numbers on their chests. Detective Grant Foster, who is leading the case, has established that the bloody inscriptions are registration numbers of birth, death and marriage certificates. Grant Foster turns to the famous genealogist, historian Nigel Barnes, for help. During the investigation, Foster and Barnes come to unexpected conclusions: the maniac is exactly copying a series of five murders for which a certain Ike Fairben was hanged... back in 1879! Why is the killer repeating crimes of the Victorian era? And is it by chance that the last victim bore the same surname , the same as the judge who sentenced Ike Fairben to death?