London, 1878. A mysterious crime has been committed on the Thames - the body of a young girl was found among rose petals in a boat floating downstream. The deceased turns out to be the daughter of a famous judge, and Chief Inspector Michael Corravan of Scotland Yard takes control of the investigation. A former boxer and dock worker from London's seedy East End, Corravan has good street smarts and a knack for finding clues, but he is surprised when exactly a week later a second woman is found dead in a boat, and then a third... It gradually becomes clear that the river the murders may be connected to some terrible injustice in the past for which someone has vowed to take brutal revenge. Corravan must get to the bottom of the truth before London plunges into a state of panic and before the killer claims another innocent victim.