Victorian London's finest detective, Tirips Shade, 33, hunts a serial killer while investigating his own murder, assisted by his closest friend, Harold Walker. Whether alive or in spirit, London is a thrilling but dangerous place for everyone. With a serial killer on the loose, Sarah Ann Bartley, who runs a safehouse for former prostitutes and fights for women's rights, asks Tirips to help stop the man before more women are murdered. Tomas Malachide, the owner of the steam-powered Museum of Machinations, finds himself the toast of the city, but the real passion of his life is his fiancé, Elsa, a flower seller. In the spirit world, a young boy finds himself alone on the city streets, but he just might find a friend in a streetwise girl. Cynical Willie Lynch is given the job of guide for the newly dead, while an older guide, Angelina, has her own sad secrets. Who is the mysterious Abraham Askew whom nearly every spirit seems to fear and what other perils loiter in Victorian London's graveyards?