Book one of the Londum Series. A sweeping melodrama, full of romance, passion, death and betrayal. A country torn apart by divided loyalties as great armies battle each other. The story of a woman's struggle against overwhelming odds. Yes, what a great book "Gone With The Wind" was. However, about this book ... In an alternate Victorian England named Albion, Rufus Cobb, part time private detective, full time drunk, is having a rough time. Once a respected police officer at Caledonia Yard, he is now reduced to tracking lost dogs and unfaithful spouses to make ends meet. And just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, they did. Hired by his old enemy Marcus Quist to find his missing daughter, before the case is through Cobb will have to face witches, immortals, oriental bodyguards, dangerous foreign monks and mythical monsters. Oh yes, and his cat hates him, as well. Destiny conspires to saddle Cobb with the most important case of his life, well anybody's life come to that. The fate of the Universe may depend on Cobb. Good job the pubs stay open late. And who is killing all the clowns? Rufus Cobb, Adele Curran and Jim Darby are the lead characters in a series of books - The Londum Series - written by Tony Rattigan. Set in an alternate Victorian Era, they recount the adventures of Rufus Cobb a private detective, his lady friend Adele Curran, (who just happens to be a witch, ) and Jim Darby who is a jewel-thief and conman ... but whose crimes strangely only seem to benefit the poor. Cobb and his friends live in the city of Londum, in the country of Albion, the centre of the British Empire.