A band of vigilante executioners roam the hot summer nights, abducting evil men who they judge unworthy of living and hanging them by the neck until dead. Sentenced to death is the gang member who abused dozens of vulnerable girls, the wealthy drunk driver who mowed down a child, the drug addict who put a pensioner in a coma and the hate preacher calling for the murder of British troops. But do these rogue hangmen crave true justice—or just blood?

As the bodies pile up and violence explodes all over the sweltering city, DC Max Wolfe—dog lover, single parent, defender of the weak—embarks on his most dangerous investigation yet, hunting a righteous gang of vigilante killers who many believe to be heroes. The search will take Max from squalid backstreets, where religious fanaticism breeds, to mansions in mourning and all the way to the secret rooms of power where decisions are weighed about life and death. But before The Hanging Club is confronted, Max Wolfe must learn some painful truths about the fragile line between good and evil, innocence and guilt, justice and retribution. And discover that the lust for revenge starts very close to home.