Days before Superintendent John Ransome is due to assume his new post as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, a macabre delivery arrives at his home: the body of his former mentor, submerged in a barrel of wine.
Devastated by the loss and baffled by the grotesque manner of the killing, Ransome can think of no motive for such a personal and theatrical murder. Was his mentor killed for something he knew, something he had done, or something he had once helped conceal?
With his future command already shadowed by scandal, Ransome turns to the only men he trusts: his successor, Jason Redmond, and Redmond’s steadfast partner, Daniel Haze. But as they begin to investigate, they uncover a trail of old grievances, buried loyalties, and dangerous secrets reaching deep into London’s most powerful circles.
The killer has sent a message in blood and malmsey, and unless Redmond and Haze can decipher it in time, Ransome’s rise may begin not with triumph, but with another death.
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