The year is 1885. A brutal killer is terrorizing the streets of Austin, Texas, and panic engulfs the city as one black servant after another is slain. The spectre of bigotry emerges when lawmen indict a black man but as the bodies continue to mount it becomes apparent that the killer is still on the loose...and the resulting trial uncovers one explosive scandal after another, threatening to tear the city of Austin apart. Steven Saylor, author of the resoundingly successful series of murder mysteries set in Ancient Rome [Roma Sub Rosa], proves his sure touch with this sinister and gripping thriller set nearer our own times, with resonances that still ring out.